Sibal criticises BJP’s Khushbu Sundar for backing ‘The Kerala Story’

PTI, May 9, 2023, 11:02 AM IST

Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal on Tuesday slammed BJP leader Khushbu Sundar for her remarks backing ”The Kerala Story”, and accused her of indulging in politics of supporting that ”which fuels hatred”.

Sibal’s attack came a day after Sundar voiced support for the movie and wondered as to ”what scares those who are fighting to ban” the film. ”The blatantly told truth or the fear of realising of being part of the truth, unknowingly and silently for years. Let people decide what they want to watch. You cannot decide for others. Tamil Nadu government gives lame reasons to cancel the shows. Thank you for letting people know that it’s a must watch film,” Sundar tweeted, using the hashtag ‘The Kerala Story A Must Watch’.

Reacting to her remarks, Sibal said on Twitter, ”BJP’s Khushbu Sundar on Kerala Files: ‘Let people decide what they want to watch. You cannot decide for others’. Then why protest against:Aamir Khan’s ‘PK’, Shah Rukh Khan’s ‘Pathaan’, screening of ‘Bajirao Mastani’.” ”Your politics: Support that which fuels hatred!” said Sibal, who was a Union minister during UPA 1 and 2. He quit the Congress May last year and was elected to the Rajya Sabha as an Independent member with the Samajwadi Party’s support.

He recently floated a non-electoral platform ‘Insaaf’ aimed at fighting injustice.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday ordered an immediate ban on the screening of the controversial film ”The Kerala Story” in the state to avoid any incident of hatred and violence, a senior state government official said.

West Bengal became the first state to ban the film, an action which Union Minister Anurag Thakur said was beyond his understanding why the Trinamool Congress(TMC) chief’s sympathies were with terror organisations and not with the innocent girls from Kerala. Thakur also watched the film at a cinema hall in Delhi.

Directed by Sudipto Sen, the film depicts how women from Kerala were forced to convert to Islam and recruited by the terror group Islamic State (IS). The film, which was released on May 5, has kicked up a political storm.