'The Kerala Story' is RSS agenda to humiliate the state, says CM Pinarayi Vijayan

Kollam, Kerala: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday launched yet another attack on the RSS over controversial film, The Kerala Story, alleging it was part of the Saffron organisation's agenda to humiliate the state.

He said a "blatant lie" was created in the imagination of certain people and was presented as a film to tarnish the image of the state.

Not just Keralites but even people from various other parts of the country had already registered their strong protest against this movie, he said while addressing a press conference at Chavara here.

He was replying to the questions regarding the recent screening of the film by Idukki Diocese, under the prominent Syro Malabar Catholic Church, for teenagers as part of an 'intensive training programme.'

Directed by Sudipto Sen, the Bollywood film is about a group of women from Kerala who were forced to convert to Islam and join ISIS.

Vijayan alleged that the movie was brought out with clear "political intention" and giving it more propagation may also have a deliberate agenda.

He cautioned the people not to fall into the trap of the RSS and the Sangh Parivar who, according to him, would try to create enmity between different sections of society to fulfill their intentions.

"It is better not to fall into that trap...It (the film) is RSS agenda...Sangh Parivar agenda. We should not be part of that agenda. It was said that the movie tells the story of Kerala. Where have such things happened in the state?" Vijayan asked.

The movie tried to depict the state in a poor light, but Kerala is a place where people live unitedly, cutting across their religious and caste differences, he said.

The chief minister further said that the people of Kerala are proud of their state and any attempt to tarnish its image should be opposed and condemned.

However, Vijayan didn't utter any word against the church for screening the controversial film as part of its intensive training programme.

Amidst a raging row over national broadcaster Doordarshan airing The Kerala Story, the Idukki Diocese screened the film last week for its children studying in classes 10, 11, and 12, and asked them to discuss the film and write a review about it.

As news of the screening of the movie hit headlines, the Diocese on Monday came out with an explanation, claiming the film was shown to "create awareness about love relationships and its consequences and dangers."

Fr Jins Karakkat, media in-charge of the Diocese, said they conduct an intensive training programme for children every year during vacation.

Specific topics are selected for the programme and books prepared for it, he added.

"This year, the programme was held on April 2, 3 and 4. The theme of the textbooks prepared for the children of classes 10, 11, and 12 was love relationships," the priest said.

The objective of selecting the topic was to create awareness about falling in love and its consequences, he said.

"Nowadays, there are circumstances in which teenagers are largely falling in love and facing dangers. So, we intended to create awareness among our children about such dangers," he explained.

When quizzed about the controversy surrounding the film, the priest said he had no idea about it and only knew that it was released on an OTT platform.

The screening of the film by the Catholic diocese again triggered a political debate in the state on Monday, with the BJP saying the movie received support from all walks of life.