‘The Accidental Prime Minister’ ignites flames of Controversy, Congress cries Propaganda

Guwahati, December 29, 2018:

The trailer for upcoming film ‘The Accidental Prime Minister’ has created a storm of controversy. The film, which is scheduled for an 11 January release next year, is based on the memoir by Sanjay Baru, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s media advisor and chief spokesperson from May 2004 until August 2008.

The controversial book alleges that Dr. Manmohan Singh, who served as Prime Minister from 2004-2014, was not in control of his Cabinet or even the office of the Prime Minister’s Office. Instead, he was subservient to Congress President Sonia Gandhi, who wielded the actual power. According to the book, Singh was simply keeping the PMO seat warm for the real heir, Rahul Gandhi, to assume office.

The film is seen as an anti-Congress vehicle ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections and rumours of  a ban in Madhya Pradesh had been circulating online, which were put to rest by Congress MLA Randeep Singh Surjewala. The lawmaker took to Twitter to slam the movie as “fake propaganda by BJP”, while assuring that the Madhya Pradesh government has not taken any steps to ban the film.

The trailer, which has already racked up 1.6 crore views on YouTube since its release on Thursday, has been slammed by Congress party members as BJP “propaganda”, whereas BJP has shared the trailer on Twitter, calling it “riveting”. It is to be mentioned that Anupam Kher, who is married to BJP lawmaker Kiron Kher, plays the former Prime Minister in the film. It remains to be seen how the drama plays out in the lead up to the film’s release.