The party asked her not to support the BJP’s “attempt to polarize the secular society in Kerala”.
Thiruvananthapuram:
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday condemned Doordarshan’s decision to air ‘The Kerala Story’ and asked the public broadcaster to withdraw from screening the controversial film, saying it would only exacerbate communal tensions worsen in the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls.
He also asked the national broadcaster not to become a ‘propaganda machine’ for the BJP and the RSS.
The decision of @DDNational the broadcasting of the film ‘Kerala Story’, which incites polarization, is highly objectionable. The national news channel should not become a propaganda machine of the BJP-RSS combine and withdraw from screening a film whose sole purpose is to…
— Pinarayi Vijayan (@pinarayivijayan) April 4, 2024
“@DDNational’s decision to air ‘Kerala Story’ film, which is fueling polarization, is highly condemnable. The national news channel should not become a propaganda machine of the BJP-RSS and withdraw from screening a film that only aims to worsen the situation. communal tensions in the run-up to the general election.
“Kerala will remain steadfast in resisting such malicious attempts to spread hatred,” Vijayan said in a message on X.
Doordarshan has announced that the film will air on April 5.
In a statement, the ruling CPI(M) also asked the public broadcaster to withdraw its decision to telecast the film.
The party asked her not to support the BJP’s “attempt to polarize the secular society in Kerala”.
The CPI(M) state secretariat claimed that the BJP had decided to screen the controversial film as the general elections approach, hoping to advance their political agenda as the saffron party failed to make inroads into the Kerala society .
“This amounts to provoking Kerala. Kerala had witnessed intense protests when the film was released. The censor board itself had removed 10 scenes from the film,” CPI(M) said.
A public sector broadcaster should not support the BJP’s “attempt to polarize secular society in Kerala”, the report said.
The Kerala High Court had last year refused to stay the release of the film, saying the film’s trailer did not contain anything offensive to any community as a whole.
The court had said that the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) examined the film and found it fit for public exhibition.
The film’s trailer was heavily criticized and challenged in court for “falsely” claiming that 32,000 women from Kerala were converted and radicalized and used in terror missions in both India and the world.
The BJP had claimed that there was an unofficial ban on the film in theaters in the state.
The CPI(M) and Congress strongly protested against the film when it was released in 2023.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by WhatsNew2Day staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)