Pinarayi Vijayan Asks Doordarshan To Withdraw 'The Kerala Story' Screening: Here's Why

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday (4 April) condemned the decision by Doordarshan to telecast "The Kerala Story" movie.

He asked the public broadcaster to withdraw from screening the movie, saying it would only "exacerbate communal tensions" ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.

He also asked the national broadcaster not to become a "propaganda machine" for the BJP and the RSS.

"The decision by @DDNational to broadcast the film 'Kerala Story', which incites polarisation, is highly condemnable. The national news broadcaster should not become a propaganda machine of the BJP-RSS combine and withdraw from screening a film that only seeks to exacerbate communal tensions ahead of the general elections," Vijayan wrote in a post on X.

He added that Kerala will remain steadfast in opposing such malicious attempts to sow hatred.

The movie, which was released in May last year, collected over Rs 300 crore on the box office.

The movie, directed by Sudipto Sen, narrates the ordeal of three women who are trafficked to ISIS camps after being converted to Islam through marriage.

Even before its release, the film kicked up a political storm across the country.

The film's release was challenged in the Kerala HC but the court refused to stay the release, saying the trailer does not contain anything offensive to any particular community as a whole.

The movie was banned in West Bengal but the Supreme Court lifted the ban.

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