Lucknow, May 5 (PTI) Amidst the ongoing controversy over the film ‘The Kerala Story’, a Uttar Pradesh BJP leader on Friday said he would show the film to 100 girls and take action against others to save them from ‘love jihad’. Also urged to do so. , ‘Love Jihad’ is a term often used by right-wing activists to allege a ploy by Muslim men to entice Hindu women to convert through marriage. “To save girls from love jihad, show #Kerala_Files,” UP BJP secretary Abhijat Mishra said in a tweet in Hindi in reference to “The Kerala Story”, which released in cinemas on Friday.
He said, “I will arrange to show the film to 100 girls, you do the same. Be alert, be safe.” The Kerala Story starring Adah Sharma is written and directed by Sudipto Sen.
The film is touted as “exploring” the events behind the alleged disappearance of “around 32,000 women” from Kerala. The plot follows the story of a group of women from Kerala who convert to Islam and are later forced to join the terrorist group ISIS. The makers of the film claim that the film is a compilation of true stories of three young girls from different parts of Kerala.
Asked why he felt the film should be shown to girls, Mishra told PTI, “First, love jihad is an insult to love. Second, they are making our children anti-national. ” The BJP leader said everyone is free to practice their religion but physically abusing others and pushing them on the wrong path is unacceptable.
She said extremists among Muslims finance such acts and there is a need to show the film to the girls to raise awareness about the issue. “We have to save our daughters from this,” said Mishra, former national general secretary of the BJP Yuva Morcha. Several petitions have been filed demanding a ban on the film’s release. The Supreme Court and the Kerala High Court have so far dismissed all such petitions.