New Delhi: Congress leader and former Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah triggered a controversy on Tuesday by alleging that BJP leaders are forcing movie theatres to screen 'The Kashmir Files' instead of 'James' starring late Kannada superstar Puneeth Rajkumar.
In a series of tweets, Siddaramaiah said that this is not fair whatever is being done by the BJP government.
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Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the Assembly session, Siddaramaiah alleged that the producer of 'James' had confided in him about the issue.
"Since the producers of 'James' have booked theatres by paying advance amounts, forcing the theatres to screen 'The Kashmir Files' is nothing but harassment," Siddaramaiah told mediapersons.
'James', which was released on March 17, is Puneeth Rajkumar's last film as an actor. The highly-popular actor and youngest son of thespian Rajkumar died of cardiac arrest in October 2021.
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The Vivek Agnihotri directed 'The Kashmir Files', which deals with the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from the Valley more than 30 years ago, has been made tax-free by the ruling BJP in Karnataka.
(With IANS inputs)