NEW DELHI: The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) has denied the allegation by the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena that Marathi films are being certified by non-Marathi knowing persons.

A day after the CBFC office at Walkeshwar Road in Mumbai was ransacked allegedly by MNS supporters, CBFC has clarified that its Advisory Panel of 123 members has 47 members, whose mother tongue is Marathi. Almost all the films are certified at the local level by the Advisory Panel, which consist of members drawn from various fields.

Only those films, where the producer is not satisfied with the certification granted by the Advisory Panel are referred to the Central Board for screening. Even in its Board, the CBFC has three members -Deepesh Mehta, Arundhati Nag, as well as Chairperson Leela Samson who are familiar with Marathi.

CBFC enjoys an excellent rapport with the Marathi film industry and has not received any complaint from any quarter regarding the films not being certified judiciously. Therefore, the allegation of MNS is baseless and motivated, a press note issued by the Information and Broadcasting Ministry this evening said.

The Ministry condemned this act of hooliganism and vandalism and said that such methods of protest have no place in a democratic and civilized society.

The Ministry has also taken up this matter with utmost gravity with the Government of Maharashtra and has been assured of strong and deterrent preventive and punitive action.