The Chief Minister of Kerala, Pinarayi Vijayan strongly criticised Doordarshan’s decision to air “The Kerala Story” on Thursday and urged the public broadcaster to refrain from screening the controversial movie. He emphasised that such action would only “exacerbate communal tensions”, particularly as the Lok Sabha polls draw near.

He also urged the national broadcaster not to transform into 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.”

“Kerala will remain steadfast in opposing such malicious attempts to sow hatred,” Vijayan wrote in a post that he shared on X.

Doordarshan has announced that the movie will be aired on April 5th.

In a statement, the ruling CPI(M) has also called upon the public broadcaster to retract its decision to broadcast the movie. The party emphasized the importance of not aligning with the “BJP’s efforts to polarize” the secular society of Kerala.

The CPI(M)’s state secretariat alleged that the BJP’s choice to air the controversial movie close to the general elections aims to further their political agenda, considering the party’s inability to gain traction in Kerala society.

According to the CPI(M), this move is tantamount to a challenge against Kerala, which previously witnessed significant protests upon the movie’s release. Notably, the censor board had removed 10 scenes from the film.

The CPI(M) stressed that a public sector broadcast service should not support the “BJP’s attempts to polarize” Kerala’s secular society.

While the Kerala High Court declined to halt the film’s release last year, it noted that the movie trailer did not contain anything offensive to any specific community as a whole. The court cited the Central Board of Film Certification’s approval of the movie for public exhibition.

Criticism against the movie’s trailer focused on its alleged false claims about 32,000 women from Kerala being converted and radicalized, purportedly involved in terror activities worldwide. The BJP claimed that there was an unofficial ban on the movie in state theaters.

Upon its release in 2023, the movie faced strong opposition from the CPI(M) and the Congress, with protests held against it.