Guwahati: ‘The Kerala Story’ is in the eye of a storm, mainly for the storyline as it shows religious conversion in Kerala and young girls being recruited by terror group ISIS.
West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee has banned the film as it can cause law and order issues, while most theatres in Kerala and Tamil Nadu have stopped screening the controversial movie.
BJP-ruled states like Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, on the other hand, have made the film tax-free. Top leaders of the saffron party, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, have praised the movie and slammed Opposition parties for criticising it.
Now, Himanta Biswa Sarma has urged the people to watch the film.
“I would like to appeal to the people of India to see The Kerala Story along with their families, particularly along with their your girl child,” the Assam chief minister said after viewing the film with his Cabinet ministers and BJP MLAs on Thursday.
“The Kerala Story exposes terrorism and throws light on what is going on inside terrorist camps in the name of jihad and religion,” Biswa Sarma said, adding that the film showed the story of an innocent woman being used by terrorist groups as a pawn.
“There are some sections of people globally who are trying to create a narrative in the minds of innocent Kerala people, as per what I have come across on social media and real-time interviews. I want to say that despite this being a tough time for Keralites, they must raise their voice against the use of innocent girls by the terrorist organisations,” he said.
Talking of his state, the CM said cases of girls being made to join terrorism are non-existent in Assam. However, “there are cases where girls have been indoctrinated and were motivated to convert to another religion merely because they fell in love.”
He further said that banning the film is not the solution.
“It talks about Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and is not against Muslims,” he remarked.
The film courted controversy ever since its trailer was released, with critics saying it villifies Muslims as a community.
