Maharani' Season 3 Shooting Inside J&K House Upsets Omar Abdullah

Srinagar: Former chief minister and National Conference (NC) Vice President Omar Abdullah on Friday expressed his unhappiness over the Jammu and Kashmir authorities allowing filming TV serial ‘Maharani’ inside the Union Territory’s assembly. He termed it as disgrace and degradation of the once-revered temple of democracy.

The former chief minister wrote on ‘X’, “The true face of “the mother of democracy”, where once elected representatives of the people from all parties, religions, backgrounds & parts of J&K legislated on matters of great importance now actors & extras use it as a set for TV dramas”.

He added, “What a shame that the BJP driven government in J&K has reduced the symbol of democracy, where they once sat & governed, to this sorry state of affairs. They even have a fake CM coming out of an office I was privileged to occupy for 6 years. What an absolute shame!!!!”. Mr. Abdullah also shared photographs related to the TV series shoot.

In June last year, the J&K administration had allowed filming ‘Maharani’ Season 3, a political drama TV series Stream, produced by the Kangra Talkies with actress Huma Qureshi playing the lead role and shown on SonyLIV in the J&K House at Jammu.

In October last the production house behind the Subhash Kapoor-created political drama had in an Instagram post said, "As we wrap up 'Maharani' season three in the serene mountains of Jammu and Srinagar we're filled with gratitude for the amazing team that brought this story to life."

‘Maharani Season 3 revolves around the political and social developments in Bihar during the tenure of former Chief Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav in the 1990s. Mr. Yadav who had to quit amid the political row over the infamous fodder scam had installed his wife Rabri Devi as his successor.

The J&K assembly premises have remained completely aloof for the past more than five years after the then Governor Satya Pal Malik unexpectedly dissolved the House, ending any possibility of government formation, shortly after rival political combines said they would stake their claims to power.

The last Assembly elections in J&K were held in 2014. On June 19 that year the erstwhile state was brought under the Governor’s rule following the collapse of the PDP-BJP coalition government headed by Mehbooba Mufti. The Governor had kept the House in suspended animation then. Mr. Malik had earlier this week once again, defended his controversial move of dissolving the J&K Assembly, claiming that Peoples’ Conference leader Sajad Lone whom BJP wanted to instal as the chief minister could have engaged in ‘horse-trading’ as he “didn’t have even six MLAs”.

The Centre stripped J&K of its special status under Article 370 and split the state up into two Union territories on August 5, 2019. A 5-member constitution bench of the Supreme Court of India had last month, while upholding the validity of the Union Government's decisions, directed the Election Commission of India to hold the Assembly elections in the Union Territory of J&K before September 30 this year.