Thursday, August 18 2005 20:39 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: A demand was today (August 18, 2005) made in the Rajya Sabha to ban the screening of Aamir Khan starrer Hindi movie 'Mangal Pandey' on grounds of inaccurate portrayal of the hero of the 1857 National Uprising.

Raising the demand through a Special Mention, Uday Pratap Singh (Samajwadi Party) took objection to the wrong manner in which the legendary revolutionary sepoy had been portrayed in the film 'Mangal Pandey: The Rising.'

He was particularly critical of the manner in which Pandey was shown having a fling with a nautch-girl as depicted in the movie.

Through another Special Mention, Rama Muni Reddy Sirigireddy, Telugu Desam Party (TDP) expressed concern over the abuse of the National Emblem by a London-based alcoholic beverage company and demanded that the Government take up the matter with the British Authorities in this regard.

He said in the past there have been instances of printing photographs of Hindu Gods and Goddesses in lingerie and ladies' footwear.

Dara Singh Chauhan, Samajwadi Party (SP) expressed anguish over persistent neglect of Hindi language in the country, while Penumalli Madhu, Communist Party of India Marxist (CPI-M) sought a new urban transport policy.

A demand was raised by Pyarelel Khandelwal, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for interlinking rivers and development of waterways.