The Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Congress have condemned the national award for Kerala Story, an allegedly Islamophobic movie, which purportedly broadcasts a negative depiction of Kerala as a fertile ground for radical Islamists to trick Hindu women into marriage for recruitment to the jihadist cause.
Culture Minister Saji Cherian termed the award the latest salvo in the socio-economic and cultural war the Sangh Parivar-backed Central Government has unleashed against secular and progressive Kerala.
“The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government at the Centre has strangulated Kerala financially. It has unleashed Governors to scuttle the autonomy of State-funded varsities to saffronise Kerala’s secular and progressive higher education system. Now the BJP has subverted the national film awards to malign Kerala,” he said.
Malayalam cinema wins four honours at National Film Awards; Urvashi and Vijayaraghavan get best supporting actor awards
Mr. Cherian said the BJP-ruled States gave tax breaks to the movie, which he stated claimed malevolently that thousands of Hindu women in Kerala fell prey to “Love Jihad.”
