'The Kerala Story' another attempt of Sangh Parivar to make electoral gain, says Kerala CM

He also accused the Sangh Parivar of trying to destroy the religious harmony in the state

Resentment against the upcoming film The Kerala Story based on 'love jihad' is escalating further in Kerala with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan alleging that it was another attempt of Sangh Parivar to make electoral gains.

Vijayan said that even as the central investigation agencies, as well as the centre, had stated that there was nothing called 'love jihad', the film The Kerala Story based on 'love jihad' could be seen only as part of a planned move of Sangh Parivar outfits to create communal polarisation in the state for electoral gains. Legal action would be initiated against such anti-social moves, he said and urged the people to reject such propaganda in the name of freedom of creativity.

The opposition Congress in Kerala had also strongly flayed the film and demanded a ban on its screening.

Also Read | Congress, CPM urge govt to ban screening of 'The Kerala Story'

Incidentally, the film based on 'love jihad' is coming out at a time when allegations of 'love jihad' is also being used by certain sections as part of BJP's attempts to enhance rapport with church leadership in the state. Some bishops and Christian outfits in Kerala had earlier alleged that women from the community were getting trapped by 'love jihad'.

The film, which is scheduled to be released on May 5, is directed by Sudipto Sen and produced by Vipul Amrutlal Shah. Adah Sharma is playing the lead role. In a teaser of the film released a few months back, a character named Shalini Unnikrishnan says that there were 32,000 women like her who joined ISIS and now landed in Afghanistan jail.

Sen tweeted that the film was being brought out after seven years of work. He also said that instead of hurriedly making an opinion people should watch the film and that he was ready for debating afterwards.

The statement of a former Kerala CM that some fundamentalist outfits were trying to make Kerala an Islamic state was also quoted in the teaser of the film.