Kolkata, April 21 (Indtiop) A CD made by the Communist Party of India-Marxist’s (CPI-M) labour arm Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) on murdered Singur girl Tapasi Malik has sparked a controversy, but the trade union says it has not breached the model code of conduct.
The film, scripted by Mandakranta Sen and directed by Chandan Sen, allegedly shows that the young girl from Singur was beaten to death by her father for having an illicit relationship with a youth from a different community and getting pregnant out of wedlock.
“The CD has neither violated any election (model) code of conduct nor is it meant for election campaign,” CITU state secretary Kali Ghosh told IANS.
Ghosh said: “How many people have seen the film? I’m sure not even the complainants have viewed it.”
Protesting against the CD version, the state’s opposition parties said the film insulted the poor farmers of Singur – the original site of Tata Motors’ Nano small car plant – who had joined the protest movement against land acquisition for the project.
In October last year, Tata Motors shifted the project to Sanand in Gujarat following sustained protests.
Meanwhile, senior CPI-M leader and state Transport Minister Subhas Chakraborty said the CD was responsibly prepared by the CITU and it was not banned so far.
“It’s not banned and I don’t think it has violated the Election Commission’s code of conduct,” Chakraborty said.
The burnt body of 17-year-old Tapasi was found on the premises of the Tata Motors plant Dec 18, 2007. Her father, a farmer, is said to have taken part in the agitation.
The subsequent Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe led to the arrest and then life imprisonment of local CPI-M activist Debu Malik and the ruling party’s Singur zonal committee secretary Suhrid Dutta. Both were, however, released on bail Feb 14 following a Calcutta High Court order.
rounak