Poonam Jha Azad appears to be the first casualty in the battle involving her husband and BJP party member Kirti Azad and Information and Broadcasting Minister Arun Jaitley. Ms. Azad said she was invited by a Ministry official to join the advisory panel to the Censor Board in Delhi as a member sometime in November. That was the last she heard of the offer. The final notification from the Ministry on November 24 has 108 names, some predominantly drawn from wings affiliated to the BJP. But Ms. Azad’s name does not figure in the list.
“I have an uneasy equation with Mr. Jaitley and in the past my requests for a ticket to contest in Delhi and later Bihar were turned down, though I am easily the most recognised face from Purvanchal. I was pleasantly surprised to get a call from Mr. Jaitely’s ministry with this offer,” Ms. Jha said.
The Information and Broadcasting Ministry which comes under Mr. Jaitley and his deputy Rajyavardan Rathore are also in the news for stacking up the regional offices of the Central Board of Film Certification with member who have shown their allegiance to the Bharatiya Janata PartyThe Central Board of Film Certification chairperson Pahlaj Nihalani, who has been in the news for his decisions, said he had no role in choosing people for the Delhi regional board. “The members will work under me, but they have been chosen by the Ministry,” Mr. Nihalani said.
Published - December 21, 2015 11:06 pm IST