Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, on Sunday, lambasted the makers of 'The Kerala Story' film and said that they were taking up the Sangh Parivar propaganda of projecting the state as a centre of religious extremism by raising the issue of ‘love jihad’ – a concept which has been rejected by the courts, probe agencies, and even the Union Home Ministry. Vijayan said that the trailer of the Hindi film, at first glance, appears to be "deliberately produced" with the alleged aim of creating communal polarisation and spreading hate propaganda against the state.
He added that despite ‘love jihad’ having been rejected by probe agencies, courts, and MHA, it has been connected with Kerala as the main premise of the film only to humiliate the state in front of the world.
In a statement, the Chief Minister said that such propaganda films and the alienation of Muslims depicted in them should be seen in the context of Sangh Parivar's efforts to gain political advantage in Kerala.
He further accused the Sangh Parivar of trying to destroy the religious harmony in the state by "sowing the poisonous seeds of communalism".
Earlier in the week, both the ruling CPI(M) in Kerala and the opposition Congress hit out at the controversial upcoming movie 'The Kerala Story', saying freedom of expression was not a licence to spew venom in society, and the film was an attempt to destroy the communal harmony of the state.
'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.
In a strongly-worded Facebook post, Culture and Youth Affairs Minister Saji Cheriyan said the movie was part of the Sangh Parivar propaganda to implement "their tried-and-tested method of creating unrest" among the communities by spewing venom in society.
"Kerala is a state which is known for communal harmony... This movie could be seen as an attempt by the Sangh Parivar to destroy the secular fabric of the state... This is a conspiracy to divide and create unrest in society," Cheriyan said.
The Congress party urged the government not to permit the screening of the controversial film as it aimed to create "communal divisions in society through false claims".
Leader of Opposition in the State Assembly V D Satheesan rejected the claims of the filmmakers and said it was clear that the upcoming movie intended to tarnish the image of the state at the international level.