MP Cong claims Chouhan govt has withdrawn tax exemption to 'The Kerala Story'

The Madhya Pradesh Congress on Wednesday claimed the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government has rolled back its decision to give a tax-free status to controversial Bollywood film The Kerala Story in the state.

Government officials as well as spokespersons of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) were not available for comment on the issue.

However, Central Circuit Cine Association (CCCA) director O P Goyal told PTI that no such order (about withdrawal of tax-free status) has been received by cinema hall owners in the state.

Read | Uttarakhand CM watches 'The Kerala Story' with wife, Cabinet colleagues; recommends it to everyone

Tickets for the film are being issued without charging entertainment tax on them, he said.

CCCA is the sole representative of about 2,000 film distributors and exhibitors in Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, MP and Rajasthan.

The movie, which depicts how women from Kerala were forced to convert to Islam and recruited by the terror group Islamic State (IS), was declared tax-free by the Madhya Pradesh government four days ago.

State Congress media cell chairman KK Mishra said as per rules, films with an 'A' certificate from the Censor Board cannot be exempted from entertainment tax.

This was the reason why the state government has withdrawn tax exemption to The Kerala Story, he claimed.

The Kerala Story, directed by Sudipto Sen and produced by Vipul Amrutlal Shah, has received an 'A' certificate from the Central Board of Film Certification.

This means the film can be watched by "Adults Only". In a tweet, Congress Rajya Sabha member and senior lawyer Vivek Tankha said his friends have shared with him what he claimed was the government order ending tax exemption to the film, which hit the theatres on May 5.

He termed the government decision as "prudent" and in the interest of society, and added the movie is not good for young men and women.