INDIA-ELECTION-VOTE, Election Commission bans screening of biopic on PM Modi 

Agncies, April 10 .  An Indian election official carries polling material and Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) at a distribution centre in Hyderabad on April 10, 2019.  India is holding a general election to be held over nearly six weeks starting on April 11, when hundreds of millions of voters will cast ballots in the world’s biggest democracy.

India’s election commission has ruled that a film about PM Narendra Modi’s life cannot be released ahead of elections due to begin on Thursday.

A trailer released last month elicited a furious reaction from the opposition.Mr Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had said stopping its release would be against freedom of expression.

But the commission said the film, which contains fictional elements, posed a “serious threat” to ensuring a level playing field for all candidates.

It said such a film “may create an impression of truthfulness of content” and could therefore not be displayed on any electronic media or at the cinema.