Leaders of various socio-cultural forums have called upon the State government to withdraw from its moves to suppress democratic protests like Kiss of Love using the police.
Expressing solidarity with the campaigners of the protest, the State committee leaders of Kerala Sasthra Sahithya Parishad said the Kiss of Love movement should be treated and considered as a democratic means of protest against moral policing. It should be welcomed as an opportunity to raise and register society’s voice against gender injustices and intolerance of some communal forces against social changes, they said. Parishad leaders N.K. Sasidharan Pillai and V.V. Sreenivasan alleged that the police adopted a stance that protected the criminals who unleashed violence against the protesters.
Leaders of Anweshi Women’s Organisation said that the youths who took part in the protest were detained by the police without any legal reason. “They reached the city voluntarily and participated in the event. In our country, no rule restricts hug or kiss with mutual consent,” they said.
Lauding the campaign, the State committee of the Movement for Socialist Alternative (MASS) said the police should arrest the criminals who used violence against a democratic protest.
Meanwhile, some other organisations have come up against the movement stating that it was a sign of ‘social anarchy and moral degradation.’ The district committee of Samskara Sahiti — an organisation under the KPCC — said in a communication that they would organise cultural meets in the city to expose the hollowness of the campaign.
Thanima, a city-based literary forum, alleged that Kiss of Love should be opposed by all legal means. The State committee of Poura Samajam - Kerala (PSK) called upon the State government to think of imposing a ban on Kiss of Love protests
