Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced a Genocide Museum to highlight the plight and pains of Kashmiri Pandits who faced exodus in 1990. The announcement comes after request from ‘The Kashmir Files’ director Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri.
Agnihotri had arrived in Bhopal to take part in a three-day film festival organised by RSS-affiliate Chitra Bharati starting from March 25. Agnihotri, who claimed to have studied for few years in Bhopal, urged the Chief Minister for establishing a Genocide Museum and an art centre in the city and Chouhan agreed immediately.
“Vivej ji had requested me for a genocide museum in Bhopal and we will provide him land and other resources,” said Chouhan while planting saplings with Agnihotri at Smart City park on Friday. The monument won’t be a medium for hatred and violence, but to let people see the incident and become a better person afterwards,” Chouhan said.
The Chief Minister on the occasion saluted Agnihotri for bringing the pains and sufferings of the Kashmiri Pandits who were forced out of their motherland to the forefront.
Lauding the glorious past of Kashmiri Pandits, Agnihotri claimed that the community always remained in pursuit of knowledge and wisdom and had nothing to do with the violence and added that this is the reason why not a single Kashmiri Hindu is illiterate today and hold high place in society.
Linking his past to Madhya Pradesh, Agnihotri claimed he had been a native of Bhopal and his wife Pallavi Joshi belongs to Indore. He thanked Chouhan for offering tax-free status to the movie and also making his MLAs support the movie.
However, Agnihotri remained mum as the media asked him about Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s suggestion of uploading the movie on Youtube instead of seeking tax-free status for it. “I am with Shivraj ji and can’t see anything else right now,” he said while attending plantation drive with the Chief Minister. Chouhan posed with similar query said he had said what he plans to do and not bothered about what others have to say.