At a time when the ruling CPI-M and Opposition Congress have come out against the movie ‘The Kerala Story’, the Idukki diocese of Syro-Malabar Catholic Church in Kerala has screened the controversial film for teenagers under the diocese to create awareness on the issue of  ‘love jihad’ among the youngsters in the community.

The Idukki diocese screened the film on April 4, a day before the national broadcaster Doordarshan telecast the movie on its national channel, despite strident opposition from the Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF). The screening was conducted for students of classes 10 to 12 as part of the diocese’s annual summer catechism programme. The diocese also issued a booklet on “love” highlighting the threats of ‘love jihad’.

Idukki diocese public relations officer Father Prince Karakkatt said the film was screened for Catholic students of the diocese as part of “enlightenment” against ‘love jihad’.

He said ‘love jihad’ still exists in Kerala and one of the topics in the class was love. The children were asked to watch the movie ‘The Kerala Story’ and review it. He said ”the topic was taken because many children fall into the entanglement of love”.

“Girls are being trapped in love and being used for anti-national activities including terrorism. It is a reality. We have seen how women were trapped, converted and later used for terror networks. In such a situation, we have felt that enlightening the students was essential and hence the movie was screened last week,” Father Prince Karakkatt said.

It has been reported that when Doordarshan screened ‘Kerala Story’ on its national channel, messages were sent from various churches to community groups asking them to watch the movie.

The movie, which tells the story of four women who converted to Islam before being recruited by the Islamic State, was also telecast on Doordarshan on April 5.

The ruling CPI-M and the Opposition Congress in Kerala had come out against the national broadcaster telecasting the controversial film.

Condemning the national broadcaster Doordarshan’s decision to screen the controversial film ‘The Kerala Story’ on DD national, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that ”Doordarshan must not degrade into a puppet that dances to the communal agenda of the Sangh Parivar” and demanded that the Union government not use the platform to disparage Kerala.

He said that the people from diverse religious backgrounds coexist harmoniously in the spirit of brotherhood in the state.

Kerala’s ruling CPI-M and Opposition UDF moved the Election Commission of India against Doordarshan telecasting the controversial movie.

The CPI-M has urged the Election Commission to give directives to the union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Prasar Bharati Corporation and Doordarshan not to telecast the movie through any of its channels, including DD National, either on April 5 or any other day before all phases of Lok Sabha elections are over.

Leader of the Opposition V D Satheesan moved the Election Commission of India to bar Doordarshan from broadcasting the movie.

Satheesan sent a letter to the ECI on April 5, seeking to direct Doordarshan ”to withdraw its decision to telecast the extremely malicious ‘The Kerala Story’ movie”.

“As you are aware, The Kerala Story is a propaganda film based on extremely false promises and attempts to paint a bleak picture of the people of the state. I believe this is part of Sangh Parivar’s poisonous agenda to divide the country along communal lines,” Satheesan said in his letter.

It is significant to note that the church has screened the movie when the ruling CPI-M and Opposition Congress has been creating much hue and cry against the film.

The BJP asserted that the movie’s theme was grounded in reality and questioned why the Left and the Congress were opposing it.

Responding to the Idukki diocese’s approach to the film, Opposition leader VD Satheesan said “It is a wrong decision. The Kerala story has been created to insult Kerala . Are there such incidents in Kerala? We are not agreeing with the Kerala story which has been created in an imaginary story which does not exist in Kerala.”

BJP Kerala president K Surendran said that people in Kerala have wholeheartedly welcomed the film, which follows the story of a Hindu woman from the state, brainwashed to embrace Islam and sent to Syria, where she is forced to join the Islamic State terrorist group.