Samajwadi Party (SP) MP Jaya Bachchan speaks in the Rajya Sabha during the Budget Session, in New Delhi
| Photo Credit: ANI
Samajwadi Party member Jaya Bachchan on Tuesday urged Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to have “mercy” on the film industry and introduce proposals to help it survive.
Speaking during the General Discussion on the Union Budget 2025-26 in the Rajya Sabha, the actor-politician accused the government of trying to “kill” the film industry. She said that the survival of daily wage workers had become difficult and that single-screen theatres were shutting down as people were not going to movie halls due to rising costs.
“One industry has been totally ignored by you, and previous governments were also doing the same thing. But today, you have taken it to the next level. You have completely overlooked the film and entertainment industry because you only use them for your own purposes,” Bachchan said.
“Today, leaving aside GST, all the single-screen theatres are shutting down. People are not going to movie halls because everything has become so costly. Perhaps you want to kill this industry altogether. This is the only industry that connects the entire world to India,” she added.
She appealed for “mercy” for the country’s audio-visual industry and alleged that cinema was being unfairly targeted.
“I am speaking on behalf of my film industry and making a request to this House on behalf of the audio-visual industry: please spare them. Please have some mercy for them. You are trying to kill this industry — please do not do this. Today, you have started targeting cinema as well,” Bachchan said.
She urged Sitharaman to consider the issue “very, very seriously,” emphasising that the film industry is a difficult one to sustain.
“I request the Finance Minister to consider this matter and introduce measures to help the industry survive,” she said.
Participating in the debate, K. R. Suresh Reddy of the BRS appreciated the government for providing income tax relief to individual taxpayers earning up to ₹12 lakh.
Arun Singh of the BJP highlighted that the allocation for healthcare had nearly tripled from around ₹37,000 crore under the Congress-led UPA government. He also lauded the increase in the Kisan Credit Card limit from ₹3 lakh to ₹5 lakh.
Published – February 12, 2025 10:21 am IST