Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking steps by the Union Ministries concerned to ban the video game Blue Whale Challenge which ‘is gaining increasing hold on vulnerable young minds in the country.’
In his letter, released to the media here on Saturday, the Chief Minister said the video game posed a major threat to society at large as the participants were required to go by the instructions of an anonymous administrator, their final task being suicide.
The target of the game was primarily young children. Media reports suggested that the game had already taken a few lives in India and that its popularity was growing in the country, he said.
“The blue whale game is a challenge to the whole society and comprehensive action against this from all responsible agencies are of utmost importance,” Mr. Vijayan said, adding that as far as Kerala was concerned, the cyber wing of the Police Department was making their best effort to make people aware of the ill-effects of the game through social media and other channels.
The State government, he said, could by itself do only very little in the matter. “The only solution to arrest this menace is to ban this game altogether,” he said.
The Chief Minister said this could be done only with the help of Union Ministries of Home, Information and Broadcasting, Information Technology and Electronics. “In view of the threat, which is already at our doorstep, I would request that immediate action be initiated to ban this game all over India so that we can save precious lives,” Mr. Vijayan said.
