The West Bengal government has decided to ban the newly released movie 'The Kerala Story'. "This is to avoid any incident of hatred and violence, and to maintain peace in the state," said West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee.
“West Bengal govt has decided to ban the movie 'The Kerala Story'. This is to avoid any incident of hatred and violence, and to maintain peace in the state,” ANI quoted West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee as saying.
“What is ‘The Kashmir Files?’ it is to humiliate one section. What is ‘The Kerala Story?’… It is a distorted story,” she said.
Since the trailer for the movie was released, there has been a lot of controversy surrounding it. In several states, there has been a lot of protest.
On Monday, Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee made the announcement at the state secretariat. The Bengal chief minister has instructed the state chief secretary to ensure that the film is removed from screens running it in the state.
The announcement came just minutes after Mamata Banerjee alleged that "the BJP was funding a film on Bengal on the lines of Kashmir Files."
According to Mamata Banerjee, the decision was made to "maintain peace in Bengal" and prevent hate crimes and violence.
'The Kerala Story' producer reacts
Meanwhile, film's producer Vipul Shah has also reacted to West Bengal's decision and said, "If that is what she has done, we will take legal action. Whatever is possible under the provisions of law, we will fight."
This comes a day after multiplexes across Tamil Nadu stopped showing the controversial movie on Sunday due to problems with law and order and a lack of response from the public.
In ‘The Kerala Story’, actress Adah Sharma plays the role of Fathima Ba, a Hindu Malayali nurse, who is among the 32,000 women who went missing from Kerala and were then recruited to the ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) after being forced to convert to Islam. Also, the film highlights 'Love Jihad' propaganda, where Muslim men manipulate Hindu girls to convert to Islam and abandon their families.
Here's how politicians reacted:
"Mamata Banerjee’s decision to ban 'The Kerala Story' in West Bengal is rather unfortunate. It raises serious questions on civil liberties and freedom of expression. The movie is a real account of victims, who have endured the horrors of demographic invasion and have been used as cannon fodder for ISIS, one of the most barbaric force in the world. The threat has been recognised by not one but two Chief Ministers of Kerala - V S Achuthanandan, who was a Communist and Oommen Chandy, a Congressman. Does Mamata Banerjee know about the dreaded phenomenon of Love Jihad in Kerala more than the Catholic Bishops Council, the Syro Malabar Church, The Catechesis department of the Thamarassery Diocese or the Kerala High Court, who have all spoken out against the evil design of Islamists, luring away young women in a bloody trap of death and destruction?" BJP IT Cell chief Amit Malviya wrote in a long post on Twitter.
"Who is Mamata Banerjee trying to please with this ban? Does she think Muslims of Bengal relate more to the ISIS than the Indian Constitution? Shame on her regressive politics. There was no threat to law and order in Bengal because of the movie, which was being screened in over a dozen cinema halls in Kolkata alone. But now, with this dog-whistle, one can expect the worse," he wrote.
"Instead of protecting our daughters, Mamata Banerjee has yet again chosen to stand with radical elements," he said.
Union Minister Anurag Thakur said, "Their (opposition) face is getting exposed, they're doing appeasement and vote bank politics. By banning the film (The Kerala Story), West Bengal is committing injustice. Recently only, a girl was raped & murdered in Bengal...what are you ( Mamata Banerjee) getting by standing up for such terrorists..."
Also Read | Jamiat Ulama-I-Hind moves SC to stop release of film ‘The Kerala Story’, says it can cause hatred
Also Read | 'The Kerala Story' shows ugly truth of terrorism, Cong opposing it for sake of votes: PM Modi in Karnataka
