New Delhi: A massive crowd gathered at Leisure Valley Ground, Sector 29, Gurgaon, to watch the premiere of MSG: The Messenger of God. However, the show was cancelled as the necessary formalities had not been completed.

The Dera chief told his followers, that the dates of the premiere and release would be announced later.

Ms Bhaskar, a professor of cinema studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University who claimed to have resigned in solidarity with Ms Samson, said, “My resignation has to do with Leelaji’s decision to step down. We were working together and as a group we had discussed resigning earlier. But we held on as she attempted to help the ministry in running the board. There was no meeting in the past one year though it was mandatory for board members to meet every three months. The last meeting was in January 2014. The Censor Board CEO said there were no funds to hold meetings so the board is clearly not required,” she said.

Read: Another Censor Board member Ira Bhaskar quits

Another CBFC member, Nandini Sardesai, also came out in support of Ms Samson and Ms Bhaskar. “We saw the film and found it not suitable for public viewing. So, as per procedure, it is up to the producer to go to Delhi and ask for a tribunal hearing, which normally takes 15-30 days. This has happened within 24 hours. A tribunal has been set up and the film has been cleared. This is what, I think, is rankling Leela,” she said.

Ms Samson has termed the clearance “a mockery of the CBFC” and said she had decided to quit because of “recent cases of interference, coercion and corruption of panel members and officers” of the Censor Board.

However, refuting the charges, minister of state for I&B Rajyavardhan Rathore said the government has always maintained a distance from the entire process of film certification and Ms Samson should furnish evidence. He said Ms Samson should show the “SMS” or “letter” which could show there was “interference” or “coercion” so that action could be taken.