A special screening of Vikrant Massey’s The Sabarmati Report took place in Parliament on Monday (December 2). Prime Minister Narendra Modi, along with his party and cabinet colleagues, attended the screening of the film which claims to reveal the truth behind the fire incident in the Sabarmati Express at Godhra on February 27, 2002. PM Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat when the incident took place.
Amid the impasse over who will become next Maharashtra CM and strong posturing by Shiv Sena leaders for Eknath Shinde’s continuation as the Chief Minister, rumours were rife that his party MPs will boycott the screening of the film in Balyogi Auditorium in the Parliament Library Building on Monday. However, it is now learnt that it is not true.
Also, Eknath Shinde is not playing the hardball regarding the CM post and he had last week publicly informed that the decision on who should be the CM is to be taken by the BJP. He had also stated that he will agree to whatever PM Modi and the party’s top brass decide. Though there have been heavy speculations of him being a little upset with the entire political scenario panning out in Maharashtra, it clearly does not look like he would ask his set of Parliamentarians to skip events like these.
Eknath Shinde, the caretaker Chief Minister of Maharashtra, has been suffering from fever and a throat infection for the past few days and was recovering in his native village in Satara district, Maharashtra, before reaching Mumbai. Before he fell ill, he went to Delhi to meet the BJP top brass. Since he was in his village, the Mahayuti meeting that was expected to be held in Mumbai to discuss Maharashtra government formation had to be put on hold.
Besides leaders of the NDA, alliance partners have also been asked to be present during the screening of The Sabarmati Report.
Shiv Sena’s Milind Deora & Other LS MPs attend
Shiv Sena’s Rajya Sabha MP Milind Deora and some other Lok Sabha MPs of the party were part of the screening. Union Minister Nityanand Rai, BJP MP Bansuri Swaraj, Union Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi were also seen reaching the Parliament to watch the film ‘The Sabarmati Report’. The first ones to arrive were Union Minister Rajnath Singh and Home Minister Amit Shah.
When PM Modi lauded The Sabarmati Report
On November 18, the PM lauded The Sabarmati Report for its effort in uncovering the truth. Responding to an X user who tagged him with the film’s trailer, the PM praised the movie for shedding light on the events surrounding the 2002 Godhra train tragedy.
Highlighting the importance of bringing facts to light, PM Modi, who was the Chief Minister of Gujarat at the time of the train burning, wrote, “Well said. It is good that this truth is coming out, and that too in a way common people can see it. A fake narrative can persist only for a limited period of time. Eventually, the facts will always come out.”
Vikrant Massey announces retirement
PM’s decision to watch the film comes just hours after Vikrant announced his retirement. In the wee hours of Monday Vikrant shared an official note to announce hos decision to quit acting. His decision has shocked his fans as well as his industry colleagues.
“The last few years and beyond have been phenomenal. I thank each and everyone of you for your incredible support. But as I move forward, I realise it’s time to recalibrate and go back home. As a husband, father and a son. And also as an actor,” Vikrant’s statement read.
It further mentioned, “So coming 2025, we would meet each other for one last time. Until time deems right. Last 2 movies and many a years of memories. Thank you again. For everything and everything in between. Forever indebted.”
