Pinarayi said that the union government had not explained why it chose to differentiate among award winnersThiruvananthapuram: The boycott of the National Film Award ceremony was caused by the union government's intolerant attitude, Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said. He said that the government had insulted president Ram Nath Kovind by insisting that information and broadcasting minister Smriti Irani should present most of the awards in a departure from convention.
Pinarayi said that the union government had not explained why it chose to differentiate among award winners. "All the government had done was to draw the president into a controversy for the sake of Smriti Irani," Pinarayi said in a note on social media.
The protest by the award winners was just, he added. "Those who boycotted the function had not refused the awards. They only wanted to receive the awards from eligible hands. The artistes showed high social responsibility when they chose to turn their hour of honour into a protest against injustice," he said.
"Such insults happen amid the rush to establish a dictatorship by silencing dissent. This is part of an organised plan. The protest by the film artistes assume significance in this backdrop. The film fraternity is witnessing the same flame of protest that is being strengthened across the country against the rule of intolerance and hatred," the chief minister said.
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