Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Sunday hit out at the makers of the controversial movie “The Kerala Story”, alleging that they were pushing the propaganda of Sangh Parivar – an umbrella term used to refer to a family of organizations that are affiliated with or inspired by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the ideological fountainhead of the Bharatiya Janta Party – of projecting the southern state as a centre of religious extremism. The chief minister said the makers raised the issue of the so-called love jihad despite the concept being rejected by the courts, probe agencies and even the Union home ministry.
He said in a statement that the movie trailer appears to be “deliberately produced” with the alleged aim of creating communal polarisation and spreading hate propaganda against the state. The chief minister also accused the Sangh Parivar of trying to destroy the religious harmony in the state by “sowing the poisonous seeds of communalism”.
“In the movie trailer, we see a hoax that 32,000 women in Kerala were converted and became members of the Islamic State. This bogus story is a product of the Sangh Parivar’s lie factory,” the CM contended in his statement.
He said that freedom of expression could not be a justification for using cinema to spread sectarianism in the state and create divisions.
“It is not a licence to spread lies and communalism and divide the people in the state,” he added.
‘The Kerala Story’, written and directed by Sudipto Sen, is portrayed as “unearthing” the events behind “approximately 32,000 women” allegedly going missing in the southern state. The film falsely claims they converted, got radicalised and were deployed in terror missions in India and the world.
Pinarayi Vijayan’s statement came amid Congress’s request to not give screening permission for the film saying it was “full of lies and painted the Muslim community in bad light.”
“The film is a bundle of lies. It says 32,000 women were converted and sent to Islamic State-held areas. Its trailer gave enough hints of its content. It is intended to defame the state and community and Sangh Parivar outfits are behind this,” said opposition leader V D Satheesan.
‘The Kerala Story’, starring Adah Sharma, is set to be released in cinemas on May 5.
(With PTI inputs)
