KOLKATA: West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday said her government will ban the controversial film The Kerala Story, insisting that the movie put out a “distorted story”. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) promptly condemned the Trinamool Congress (TMC) government’s move, saying it was a “communal step”.
In a statement that was issued after Banerjee’s announcement, the West Bengal government said the ban was imposed to maintain peace and harmony in the state. “It is apprehended that the scenes in the movie can prove dangerous for the maintenance of law and order and thus screening of the film is banned in Kolkata and in all districts. The state administration has taken this decision to maintain peace and discipline,” the government statement said.
Banerjee said The Kerala Story, like the Kashmir Files, was aimed at hitting out at one community. “What was this Kashmir Files? It was to humiliate one section. What is this Kerala Story? I don’t support CPI-M. But I am sorry to say that the CPI-M is working with the BJP.... That BJP is sowing the Kerala Story – a distorted story,” she told reporters.
The Kerala Story has triggered protests for allegedly showing women in Kerala being forcibly converted to Islam and made to join the Islamic State. A trailer of the film released earlier claimed that over 32,000 women from Kerala were converted, radicalised and recruited to IS. The film producer, however, told the high court that the claim will be removed from the movie’s teaser and social media posts.
{{/usCountry}}The Kerala Story has triggered protests for allegedly showing women in Kerala being forcibly converted to Islam and made to join the Islamic State. A trailer of the film released earlier claimed that over 32,000 women from Kerala were converted, radicalised and recruited to IS. The film producer, however, told the high court that the claim will be removed from the movie’s teaser and social media posts.
{{/usCountry}}The film has been cited by BJP leaders during their election speeches in Karnataka. PM Modi on Friday told a rally in Bellary that the film was based on a terror conspiracy and that it shows “the ugly truth of terrorism and exposes terrorists’ design”. “The Congress is opposing the film made on terrorism and standing with terror tendencies,” he said.
Bengal BJP leader Rahul Sinha said: “This is totally a communal step and an infringement on the freedom of art and cinema. She did the same thing earlier too when Kashmir Files was released. The film, however, was shown smoothly in theatres without any hassle. Even today she has spoken out against the Kashmir Files. This is nothing but a step to incite communal sentiments”.
CPI-M lawmaker Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya also criticised Bengal’s decision to ban the movie, saying it was better to counter the film rather than ban it. He underlined that Kerala hadn’t banned the movie. “This is an autocratic decision… It is better to place opposing views against a movie… Kerala hasn’t banned the movie,” Bhattacharya told reporters.