Activists of the Nationalist Youth Congress (NYC) and Fraternity Movement staged a protest in front of the Shenoy’s theatre in Kochi on Friday against the screening of the controversial film ‘The Kerala Story’.
Also read |‘The Kerala Story’ an attempt to spread hate propaganda, says Pinarayi Vijayan
‘Bundle of lies’
Members of the NYC, the youth wing of the Nationalist Congress Party, entered the theatre premises shouting slogans demanding a ban on the movie. They alleged that the movie fuelled the divisive propaganda of the Sangh Parivar. Police stopped them from entering the theatre and later removed them from the site.
Activists of the Fraternity Movement staged a march to the theatre around 11.15 a.m. They rejected the initial claims made by the makers of the movie that about 32,000 women in Kerala were converted to Islam and trafficked to join the Islamic State (IS). The activists alleged that the movie was a bundle of lies, aimed at dividing society in the name of religion.
BJP leaders attend show
The district leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party were among those who watched the inaugural show. The booking for the movie was available at only two mutilplexes and theatres each in Ernakulam district. Though it was listed initially, the screenings at two other multiplexes in the city were cancelled.
The representatives of Film Exhibitors’ United Organisation of Kerala had earlier stated that they would not oppose the screening of the movie, especially in view of its clearance by the Central Board of Film Certification.
