"This is not Uddhav's govt" BJP leader Kirit Somaiya reacts to NCP's Jitendra Ahwad comments on 'The Kerala Story'
May 10, 2023
Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], May 10 : Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Kirit Somaiya on Wednesday said that this is not the government of Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray where 'The Kerala Story' film will get banned in the state.
While reacting to NCP leader Jitendra Awhad's comment where he mentioned that The Kerala story filmmaker should be hanged, Kirit Somaiya said, "This is not the Uddhav Thackeray government in Maharashtra where this movie will get banned. Is Jitendra Awhad worried about Muslim voters?"
"I want to ask Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar what problems they have with this movie," he added.
Amid the ongoing controversy over the movie 'The Kerala Story', Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MLA Jitendra Awhad said that the producer of the movie should be hanged in public.
"Under the name of 'The Kerala Story', a state and its women were defamed. The official figure of three was projected as 32,000. The person who produced this fictional movie should be hanged in public," NCP leader Awhad said.
Earlier West Bengal became the first state to ban the film, which narrates the ordeal of three women who are trafficked to ISIS camps after being converted to Islam through marriage.
There's a continuing political outcry around the movie even as it has been made tax-free in BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh and now Uttar Pradesh, becoming the second state to make the move.
On the decision to ban the film, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said, "It is to avoid any incident of hatred and violence, and maintain peace in the state."
'The Kerala Story' stars Adah Sharma, Yogita Bihani, Siddhi Idnani and Sonia Balani in lead roles.
A massive controversy erupted around the film after its trailer claimed that 32,000 women from Kerala had gone missing and joined the terrorist group ISIS. However, in the face of protests, the contentious figure in the trailer was later withdrawn.