Thiruvananthapuram: CPM MP John Brittas on Wednesday called on Union Home Minister Amit Shah to take action against the "mischievous" teaser of the film 'The Kerala Story' for making false claims that 32,000 women from the state were converted to Islam and recruited to the terror outfit Islamic State.
The letter comes a day after Kerala police chief Anil Kant directed the registration of a case on the complaint against Sudipto Sen's movie 'The Kerala Story'.
Brittas, in his letter, said that the claims in the teaser that the film is about the story of 32,000 women from Kerala who were radicalised to join the terror outfit ISIS "is absolutely rubbish and fallacious".
"Such dissemination of grossly false information may lead to inconceivable repercussions and unrest in the society and the same will amount to defaming the state as well. The false narrative is being massively spread over social media."
"It is not only derogatory in nature but also aimed at causing communal divide and tension between various religions, which, therefore, entails serious penal consequences," he said in the letter.
The Rajya Sabha member also said that according to news reports back in 2019, the Home Ministry had put the number of women who were radicalised and recruited into ISIS from across the country at 155.
The ground realities are in stark contradiction to what has been claimed in the teaser, he said and added "such mischievous actions are to be nipped in the bud".
"In these circumstances, considering the exigency, I strongly urge upon the ministry to take swift actions in this regard," he said in the letter.
He also tweeted about it -- "Teaser of 'The Kerala Story', falsely claims that 32000 women from Kerala were converted to IS & sent abroad. Being widely circulated, this severely threatens harmony, secularism & national unity apart from defaming Kerala. Wrote to @AmitShah ji & @ianuragthakur ji for urgent action."
Earlier in the day, a source in Kerala police headquarters confirmed that Director General of Police (DGP) Anil Kant had on Tuesday directed the Thiruvananthapuram city police commissioner to register a case and look into the complaint against the film by a Tamil Nadu-based journalist.
The complaint was sent to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan who forwarded the same to the DGP for appropriate action, the source said.
The top police official, thereafter, directed the high-tech crime inquiry cell of the police to conduct a probe and submit a report, the source said.
Based on the cell's report, Kant has directed the registration of an FIR and investigation into the complaint, it said.
In the controversial teaser, actor Adah Sharma -- wearing a burqa -- is seen saying she was a Hindu woman who was converted to Islam and recruited into ISIS and presently languishing in a jail in Afghanistan.
She also says in the teaser that this was the story of 32,000 other women from Kerala.
(With PTI inputs)
