Sikkim Govt demands a second apology from Priyanka in more clear-cut terms

Priyanka Chopra, who has produced a Sikkimese film, landed herself in a controversy when she called the north eastern state insurgency-troubled while talking about her film at Toronto International Film Festival. Soon a controversy broke out on social media with people doubting Priyanka’s knowledge over politics.

Sikkim Tourism Minister Ugen T Gyatso too termed Priyanka’s statements as ‘unfortunate’. Post this, Priyanka sent out an apology to the Sikkim Government. But we have now learnt that the state government is not quite happy with her apology and have demanded for a second apology emphasising on more ‘clear-cut’ terms.

Sikkim Tourism Secretary C Zangpo Bhutia informed IANS, “We have received an apology note from Priyanka Chopra for her comments, where she has written ‘I tender an apology’. But we are not satisfied. We have asked her to send us another letter in more clear-cut terms.”

“Whatever she said is totally unacceptable. This has tarnished the image of our state. So we asked her to take back her statement and apologise to us. But as we are not satisfied with her first letter. We are waiting for a fresh note from her,” he added further.

While on the other hand, an MP from Sikkim, Prem Das Rai states that there is no reason to sensationalise this issue. “She definitely doesn’t have her facts correct. Sikkim has been an insurgency-free state for three decades but she didn’t know that,” he stated. (Also Read: Priyanka Chopra to be a presenter at Emmy awards)

For the uninitiated, here’s Priyanka’s statement over Sikkim that she gave to ET Canada while promoting her film leading to a furore, “This is a Sikkimese film. Sikkim is a small state in the northeast of India which never had a film industry or anyone who made films from there. And this is the first film ever that’s come out of that region because it’s very troubled with insurgency and troubling situations.”

Watch this space for more updates.

Inputs from IANS

Nikita Thakkar

A strongly opinionated, free-spirited, budding Bollywood journalist, she likes to write anything in her own quirky style. When not running around to get assigned tasks completed, you will find her either painting, indulging in photography or dreaming in the la la land.