'The Kerala Story' Is RSS Agenda, Says Pinarayi Vijayan After Catholic Diocese Screens The Movie For Teens

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday (9 April) attacked the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) over the movie 'The Kerala Story'.

He claimed the film was part of the RSS's agenda to demean the state, describing it as a “blatant lie” aimed at tarnishing Kerala's image.

Vijayan alleged that the movie was brought out with clear “political intention” and giving it more propagation may also have a deliberate agenda.

“It is better not to fall into that trap…It (the film) is RSS agenda…Sangh Parivar agenda. We should not be part of that agenda. It was said that the movie tells the story of Kerala. Where have such things happened in the state?” Vijayan asked.

Vijayan was replying to the questions during a press conference regarding the recent screening of the film by Idukki Diocese, under the prominent Syro Malabar Catholic Church, for teenagers as part of an “intensive training programme.”

The Idukki Docese had last week screened the movie for its children studying in classes 10, 11, and 12, and asked them to discuss the film and write a review.

The Diocese on Monday (8 April) clarified that the film was shown to “create awareness about love relationships and its consequences and dangers.”

The Kerala Story, 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.

After the row over the movie screening, Father Jins Karakkat, media in-charge of the Idukki Diocese, said they conduct an intensive training programme for children every year during vacation.

Specific topics are selected for the programme and books prepared for it, he added.

“This year, the programme was held on April 2, 3 and 4. The theme of the textbooks prepared for the children of classes 10, 11, and 12 was love relationships,” the priest said.

“Nowadays, there are circumstances in which teenagers are largely falling in love and facing dangers. So, we intended to create awareness among our children about such dangers,” he explained, Indian Express reported.

Earlier on 4 April, Vijayan had condemned the decision by Doordarshan to telecast "The Kerala Story" movie.

He had 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 had wrote in a post on X.

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