Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring on Thursday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking a ban on the upcoming ZEE5 docu-series 'Lawrence of Punjab', based on gangster Lawrence Bishnoi.
The Congress leader has been opposing the docu-series, claiming that it may glorify gangster culture and send the wrong message to society. In his letter to the Prime Minister Modi, Warring said the series focuses on the life of the dreaded gangster Lawrence Bishnoi.
“The movie or series appears to glorify a person involved in several gruesome crimes, including the brutal murder of popular Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala,” he said. He added that people in Punjab strongly object to the portrayal.
“We in Punjab have strong objections to this series for many reasons… Punjab is a holy land of 'Gurus', 'Rishi' and 'Pirs'. You have yourself spent a lot of time in Punjab. You know Punjab's history and culture as much. Should such a holy land with a glorious history and culture be identified with a gangster? That is what the OTT series wants to project,” Warring stated. He warned that glorifying crime and gangster culture could have a dangerous impact on impressionable young minds.
“Instead of discouraging crime and gangster culture, which we all should aspire for, the web series will glorify it. Punjab does not need any introduction. Identifying Punjab with a criminal and a gangster like Lawrence Bishnoi is an insult to Punjab, Punjabi and Punjabiyat. We must nip the evil in the bud and we seek your personal intervention to ban the series from getting aired,” the Ludhiana MP said.
Warring urged the Prime Minister to personally intervene and stop the release of the series. He requested directions to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology to ban the show.
On Wednesday, Warring also filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the Punjab and Haryana High Court seeking a stay on the release of Lawrence of Punjab.
In the petition, he stated that the plea was filed in larger public interest, particularly considering the prevailing socio-criminal environment in Punjab. The series is scheduled to be released on ZEE5 on April 27.
As per the makers, the series traces the evolution of a criminal identity through the lens of culture, systems and media visibility, presenting Bishnoi as a case study linked to student politics, music, ideology and media amplification. Bishnoi, 33, is currently lodged in a Gujarat jail and faces multiple criminal cases.
He is one of the main accused in the murder of singer Sidhu Moosewala.
Investigating agencies, including the National Investigation Agency (NIA), have also named Bishnoi in several high-profile cases linked to organised crime networks.
Also read: Punjab Police seek ban on 'Lawrence of Punjab' series
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