MP govt to issue notice to IAS officer Niyaz Khan over tweets on ‘The Kashmir Files’

PTI, Mar 23, 2022, 12:38 PM IST

Image posted on Twitter

The Madhya Pradesh government will issue a notice to IAS officer Niyaz Khan, who had posted controversial tweets on the recently released movie “The Kashmir Files”, state Home Minister Narottam Mishra said on Wednesday.

In one of the tweets, Khan, who is deputy secretary with the MP Public Works Department, had last week urged makers of ”The Kashmir Files” to also make a film on the “killings of large number of Muslims across several states” in India, and said members of this minority community are “not insects, but citizens of the country”.

Talking to reporters here on Wednesday, Mishra said, “I have seen Khan’s tweets. This is a serious issue…he is crossing and violating the lakshman rekha (limit) set for (government) officials…the state government will issue a show-cause notice to him and seek his reply.” Khan had also said that he was planning to write a book highlighting the “massacre of Muslims” so that a movie like ”The Kashmir Files” could be produced by someone to bring the “pain and suffering of minorities” before Indians.

Later, had also appealed to ”The Kashmir Files” producer to transfer all earnings from the movie for the education of the children of Kashmiri Pandits and construction of homes for them in Kashmir.

After his tweets became viral, the film’s director, Vivek Agnihotri, had sought an appointment with Khan for “exchanging ideas”.

Later, state Medical Education Minister Sarang had said he was going to write a letter against Khan to the personnel department, alleging that the IAS officer was talking about “firqaparasti” (sectarianism).

Produced by Zee Studios, ”The Kashmir Files” depicts the exodus of Kashmiri Hindus from Kashmir following systematic killings of people from the community by Pakistan-backed terrorists.

The film, which was released on March 11, has sparked a debate among political parties. Several BJP-ruled states, including Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat, have exempted the film from entertainment tax.