Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra has questioned the logic behind the FIR lodged against officials of Netflix in Madhya Pradesh for a kissing scene in a temple in the series A Suitable Boy.

An FIR was registered in Madhya Pradesh on Monday against two executives of OTT platform Netflix for allegedly hurting religious sentiments and encouraging “love jihad”.

Moitra, the Krishnanagar lawmaker, said the complaint by Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) was ironical when Khajuraho Temple in Madhya Pradesh has always encouraged love.

Taking to her official Twitter handle, Moitra posted a picture of the Khajuraho Temple and wrote, “Irony dies a 1000 deaths under BJP MP govt asks police to check Netflix series for kissing scenes filmed in temple & if it hurt sentiments. Meanwhile, in Khajuraho just 300 km away from state capital…”

Monika Shergill, Vice President, Content (Netflix) and Ambika Khurana, Director, Public Policies (Netflix) have been booked by Rewa Police after BJYM’s national secretary Gaurav Tiwari filed a complaint.

Tiwari demanded an apology from Netflix and makers of the series, and removal of “objectionable scenes”, which he stated were also “encouraging love jihad”.

“I had asked officials to examine the series A Suitable Boy being streamed on Netflix to check if kissing scenes in it were filmed in a temple and if it hurt religious sentiments. The examination prima facie found that these scenes are hurting the sentiments of a particular religion,” Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra said in a video statement, reported PTI.

“On the basis of a complaint filed by Gaurav Tiwari, an FIR is being registered under section 295 (A) (malicious acts to outrage and insulting the religious feelings and beliefs) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) in Rewa against Netflix officials – Monika Shergill and Ambika Khurana,” he added.

On Saturday, Gaurav Tiwari had submitted a memorandum to the Rewa superintendent of police demanding an apology from Netflix and makers of the series, and removal of “objectionable scenes” from A Suitable Boy.

“Kissing scenes (filmed) inside a temple of Lord Maheshwar (a historic town located on the banks of Narmada in Madhya Pradesh) have hurt the sentiments of Hindus. This is also encouraging ‘love jihad’,” Mr Tiwari had stated.

The six-part Netflix series has been directed by renowned filmmaker Mira Nair, who is known for her critically-acclaimed films such as Salaam Bombay, Monsoon Wedding and The Namesake.