Congress wants to ban ‘Kerala Story’ but not BBC film on Modi: Himanta Biswa Sarma in Karnataka
Amid the row over Adah Sharma’s The Kerala Story for its claims on the indoctrination of women in ISIS in Kerala, Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma made it an election issue in Karnataka.
Addressing a rally in the poll-bound state on Friday, Himanta referred to the Congress manifesto of banning the Bajrang Dal if voted to power and said, “Does Bajrang Dal do any bomb blast? No. How will you ban Bajrang Dal? What is your friendship with the PFI that you are acting like their spokesperson?”
“There is a new film The Kerala Story which reveals many things. When the BBC made a film on Modiji making false claims, the Congress was in favour of it. But today the same Congress wants a ban on The Kerala Story,” Himanta said.
“Congress can’t give any guarantee as Rahul Gandhi has no guarantee,” Himanta said.
Earlier on Friday, PM Modi referred to The Kerala Story as he said in Karnataka: “Such a beautiful state of the country, where people are hardworking and talented. The ‘Kerala Story’ film brings out terror conspiracies happening in that state. It is unfortunate that Congress can be seen standing with this terror trend that is seeking to ruin the country. Congress is even indulging in backdoor political bargaining with people having terror inclinations. People of Karnataka should be cautious about Congress.”
The Kerala Story released on Friday, sparking off a controversy as special screenings are being organised in many areas by BJP workers. Kerala Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan slammed the movie before its release and called it Sangh propaganda while the Congress too spoke against the movie for its “exaggeration”.
The Kerala high court on Friday refused to stay the release of the movie and said the trailer has nothing offensive. The disclaimer says that the film is a dramatised version of events, the high court noted.
Row over teaser claim of ‘32,000 women’
The teaser of the Sudipto Sen movie claims over 32,000 women from Kerala were recruited by the IS. Facing flak for the number, the producer has agreed to remove the teaser will be removed from social media.