BJP activists today protested the state government’s move to impose a ban on the screening of ‘The Kerala Story.’ The state has said that the move was an attempt to disturb communal harmony.

Party workers held a protest rally and staged a demonstration at Safdar Hasmi Chowk in Siliguri.

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The state government had ordered an immediate ban on the screening of the controversial Sudipto Sen-directed film on 8 May “to avoid any incident of hatred and violence and to maintain peace in the state” after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee slammed the movie for portraying “distorted stories.”

The movie, which is apparently based on instances of women joining the Islamic State, was released across the country on 5 May. Its teaser had claimed that 32,000 nonMuslim girls had been lured, converted and radicalised in Kerala to join the terror outfit. However, the number was changed to three after protests began against the alleged misinformation being spread by the film.

BJP has accused the government of appeasing the minority community, “eying its political interests and vote bank politics.”

“The plot of the movie The Kerala Story has no link with Bengal. The chief minister is afraid of the rural elections and parliamentary elections. The Bengal Files is coming up next. Despite the Central Board of Film Certification having certified the film for public viewing, the state government has banned the movie. We wished the director of the movie Sudipta Sen, who has truly highlighted how the Hindu sisters were converted by love jihad. This ban will not deter people from watching such movies, they have the option to watch them on the online platform at their homes,” said the president of the Siliguri (Organisational) District of the BJP and Matigara-Naxalbari MLA Anandamay Barman.

Amid the buzz around the movie ban, some members of the film fraternity, including senior actor Shabana Azmi and director Anurag Kashyap, have opposed the ban on the film.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court today agreed to hear a plea by the producers of the multilingual film starring Adah Sharma against its ban on screening on 12 May.