New Delhi [India], April 3 : Rajya Sabha on Thursday witnessed exchanges between CPI-M member John Brittas and MoS Tourism Suresh Gopi.
Suresh Gopi said there was no pressure on makers of L2 Empuraan makers and it was the decision of the director, producers and actor to remove 17 portions from the film amid the ongoing controversy.
"There was no censor pressure on the producers of Empuraan. I was the first person to call the producers and ask them to delete my name from the credit...the beginning of the film. This is the truth. I am ready to take any punishment if it is false," Suresh Gopi said.
"It was the decision of the producers and the lead actor of the film, with permission from the director of the film, to remove 17 portions from the film. It was their decision. So, what is this circus going on ....defaming the party (BJP)."
Amid din, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said that Gopi responded after Brittas took his name. He said the CPI-M member remarked that Gopi will not win the next polls.
He said Brittas "provoked" Gopi.
DMK's Tiruchi Siva demanded that some remarks of Gopi should be expunged.
Gopi, an actor-politician, had earlier too spoken about the controversy concerning L2 Empuraan movie.
"Okay, so what is the controversy? Who has raised the controversy? It's all business. Screwing up the psyche of the people and making money. That's all," Gopi told ANI.
In a show of support for 'Empuraan', Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Sunday strongly condemned the Sangh Parivar for "unleashing communalism through widespread hate campaigns" against the Malayalam film directed by Prithviraj Sukumaran.
The Chief Minister, who watched the movie on Saturday said that the Sangh Parivar leaders are angered about the film because it referenced "one of the most brutal genocides the country has ever seen."
"I saw the film Empuraan, which is leading the Malayalam film industry to new heights. I saw the film at a time when the Sangh Parivar is unleashing communalism through widespread hate campaigns against the film, its actors and crew," Vijayan wrote in Malayalam in a post on social media platform Facebook.
"The fact that the film references one of the most brutal genocides the country has ever seen has angered the Sangh Parivar, its planners. Not only the followers, but even leaders of the BJP and RSS are raising public threats."
The Chief Minister said that violent calls to destroy and ban artwork and artists are the latest manifestations of fascist attitudes.
"There have even been reports that the producers are being forced to re-censor and edit the film under this pressure. This atmosphere of fear created by the Sangh Parivar is worrying. It is not a good thing for democracy for communalists to destroy a work of art and viciously attack artists just because it has taken a stand against communalism and depicted its horror," he said.
Mohanlal also issued a statement acknowledging that certain aspects of the film had caused distress to some of his fans and assured that the team had decided to remove such references.