The political storm triggered by the controversial film ‘The Kerala Story’ in Kerala continued in the state, with the BJP claiming that recruitment to terrorist outfit Islamic State (IS) from the southern state cannot be ruled out and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan refusing to give accurate figures. Were aware
While the film’s factual basis sparked political debate in the state and whether or not its content could be justified by invoking the right to freedom of expression, it also kicked off the “cash for proof” game, which involved varying amounts of money. was given as a reward. The film claims to provide evidence of women from Kerala converting and joining the Islamic State.
With the BJP coming out in support of the controversial film, senior Congress leader and Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor said Keralites have the right to say loud and clear that the film was a “misrepresentation of our reality”.
Tharoor tweeted, ‘I want to emphasize that I am not demanding a ban on the film. Freedom of expression ceases to be valuable just because it can be misused. But Keralites have every right to say that this is a misrepresentation of our reality. Sharing a poster of the film, Tharoor had tweeted on Sunday, “May be this is the story of ‘your’ Kerala.” This is not ‘our’ Kerala. Story.” ‘The Kerala Story’ starring Adah Sharma is set to hit the theaters on May 5. Written and directed by Sudipto Sen, the film explores the “unknown” events behind the alleged disappearance of “nearly 32,000 women” from Kerala. Depicted as.
According to the CPI(M) and the Congress in Kerala, the film falsely claims that women were converted, radicalized and deployed in terrorist missions in India and around the world.
A day after Vijayan criticized the makers of the film for projecting Kerala as a hotbed of religious extremism and furthering the Sangh Parivar’s agenda to spread hatred against the state, BJP state president K Surendran on Monday Claimed IS presence in the state. The southern state could not be denied.
The BJP leader claimed, “The IS has a very strong presence in Kerala… You cannot rule out IS recruitment from the state.”
Speaking to reporters in Kozhikode, he said, “The chief minister knows the exact figures of IS recruitment.”
The BJP leader argued that if there was no presence of IS and terrorism in the state then why would someone come from Uttar Pradesh to Kerala to set a train on fire. He was referring to the recent incident in which a passenger on a train in Kerala doused three others with petrol and set them on fire, trying to link them with IS terrorism.
“Movies are not always completely based on facts. Consider the film as one. Check it out first. Why the hurry to stop its screening? Why fear it? Why so much ruckus? Those who don’t want to see it don’t need to,” Surendran said.
He sought to compare the fictional film – which the filmmakers claim is based on the story of a girl who was actually forced to convert to Islam and taken to Syria to join IS – with a BBC documentary on the 2002 Gujarat riots, and asked why the reception of the two by the Kerala government was so different.
“The BBC documentary (on the 2002 riots in Gujarat) was shown by DYFI in booking halls across Kerala. Then why block ‘The Kerala Story’?”
Vijayan on Sunday accused the Sangh Parivar of trying to destroy religious harmony in the state by sowing poisonous seeds of communalism.
In response, Surendran said that “there was no Sangh Parivar agenda in this film”.
“We did not sponsor this film. We have other ways and means to express our views,” he said.
Meanwhile, cash prizes have been sponsored by several such as the Muslim Youth League for any proof of the claims made in the film that 32,000 women in Kerala converted to Islam and joined IS.
The youth wing of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) on Monday announced a hefty reward of Rs one crore to anyone providing evidence of women converting and joining the IS.
The reward was announced by PK Firoz, general secretary of the Muslim Youth League, who said proof can be presented at the district centers of the organization to receive Rs one crore without any hassle.
Tharoor tagged a poster announcing the reward on his Twitter handle and said it was an opportunity for those promoting the alleged conversion of 32,000 women to Islam in Kerala to prove their case and earn some money.
Using the hashtag ‘Not Our Kerala Story’, the Thiruvananthapuram MP asked, “Will they be up to the challenge or is there evidence because none exists?”
Apart from the Muslim Youth League, an actor-cum-lawyer has also offered a monetary reward for evidence that women were converted to Islam and taken to IS. Known for his role as a lawyer in Kunchacko Boban starrer ‘Nanna Than Kes Kodu’ (Sue me again) and for remarrying his wife under the Special Marriage Act (SMA) C Shukkur said there was no need to even show evidence. Of the 32,000 women – as claimed in the film – who converted and joined IS, “only 32 are enough,” he said, demanding proof.
Shukkur said in a Facebook post, “I am offering Rs 11 lakh to those who publish information like names and addresses of women who converted to Islam and became members of the Islamic State. “There is no need to produce evidence for 32,000 women, only 32 are enough,” he said.
In a strange turn, Pratish Vishwanath, a right-wing activist and founder of Hindu Seva Kendra, has also offered Rs 10 crore. To prove the opposite: that no one from Kerala has gone to Syria to join IS.
“For all those fake liberals and vote bank politicians who still believe that the Kerala story is a myth, here is a golden opportunity for you… Rs 10 crore will be given to those who prove that anyone from Kerala has joined ISIS Hasn’t gone to Syria to be. OPEN CHALLENGE!!!” he tweeted.
A few days ago, both the ruling CPI(M) in Kerala and the opposition Congress hit out at ‘The Kerala Story’, saying that freedom of expression is not a license to spew venom at society, and that the film was an attempt by the state destroying the communal harmony of
The Congress had urged the government not to allow the screening of the controversial film as it aimed to create “communal division in the society through false claims”.
Following this, the BJP accused the ruling CPI(M) in Kerala of having “double standards” on the issue of freedom of speech and expression.
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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)