- Saturday, March 01, 2025
By: Shubham Ghosh
India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday (8) slammed Mamata Banerjee, chief minister of the eastern Indian state of West Bengal and supremo of the Trinamool Congress, for banning the controversial film “The Kerala Story”, which claims to depict the plight of women converted to Islam and recruited by the Islamic State (IS) terror outfit.
The saffron party said her decision raises serious questions on civil liberties and freedom of expression.
BJP’s information technology department head Amit Malviya said the decision is unfortunate as the film gives a “real account of victims who have endured the horrors of demographic invasion and have been used as cannon fodder” for the terrorist organisation IS.
The threat has been recognised by not one but two former chief ministers of the southern state of Kerala — V S Achuthanandan, a communist leader, and Oommen Chandy of the Indian National Congress.
“Who is Mamata Banerjee trying to please with this ban? Does she think Muslims of Bengal relate more to the IS than the Indian Constitution? Shame on her regressive politics.
“There was no threat to law and order in Bengal because of the movie, which was being screened in over a dozen cinema halls in Kolkata alone. But now, with this dog whistle, one can expect the worse,” Malviya said in a tweet.
Several BJP leaders, including prime minister Narendra Modi, have spoken favourably about the movie.
Banerjee on Monday ordered an immediate ban on the screening of the controversial film ‘The Kerala Story’ to avoid “any incident of hatred and violence”, a senior official said in New Delhi.
Action will be taken against any theatre found showing the film, the official said.
Earlier in the day, Banerjee described ‘The Kerala Story’ as a distorted movie, aimed at defaming the southern state.
Reacting to the step taken by Banerjee’s government, India’s information and broadcasting minister Anurag Thakur asked if the chief minister is trying to hide the truth behind the IS module.
“It is unfortunate that she banned the movie in West Bengal. Is she trying to take away the rights of people? Is she trying to hide the truth behind the ISIS module? This movie is just to create awareness and stop these girls to lead into terror.
“All these parties TMC, Congress, and Left need to answer if they are supporting terrorist organisations. Let me tell you when Kashmir Files came they tried to say that this was reality… But look at the Kashmiri Pandits and look at the pain of Kerala girls,” he was quoted as saying by News18.
(With PTI inputs)
