Chandigarh: film Udta Punjab going through a controversy now a days, the Congress and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Friday phrased the Central Board for Film Certification's (CBFC's) verdict to not clear the movie, as political and a treason of old-time political allies Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and Bharatiya Janata Party.

"The movie has been banned clearly with a guilty conscience," Punjab Congress president Capt Amarinder Singh said.

AAP leader and Punjabi film artist Gurpreet Singh Ghuggi said, “reasons behind the ban were "completely political". "Just a week ago, SAD had expressed reservations over the portrayal of Punjabis in the film. Since SAD is an alliance partner of the Narendra Modi-led BJP government at the Centre, the Akalis must have exercised their influence over banning the movie. Otherwise, film director Abhishek Chaubey was even ready to screen the movie with an A certification if the CBFC felt there was excessive swearing”.

Amarinder took a dig at Arun Jaitley, who is the Union information and broadcasting minister and controls the censor board, for being "party to the authoritarian decision to ban a movie that depicts the sad and harsh reality of Punjab". "If you think that you will hide the truth by banning a movie that depicts the harsh reality of the drug scourge in Punjab, you are mistaken," Amarinder said. "At least, Mr Jaitely should have stood against the ban, as nobody other than him knows how serious is the drug problem in Punjab. After all, the people involved in and associated with it (drug menace), managed his campaign and were the main causes of his defeat from Amritsar."

The PCC president hailed the efforts of the makers of the movie for adopting a "difficult subject". "Unfortunately, the powers that be do not want to see the reality; they have simply ran away, little realizing that more they try to hush up and hide it, the more it will be exposed and revealed," he observed.