Ramesh Chennithala hails communal harmony initiatives, criticises ‘Kerala Story 2’ movie

Thiruvananthapuram, Mar 1 (PTI) Senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala on Sunday praised recent instances of communal harmony in the state and criticised the film ‘Kerala Story 2 Goes Beyond’, saying the people of the state have rejected divisive politics.

In a Facebook post, Chennithala referred to the appeal by the Imam of Palayam mosque here to open religious places and homes during Ramadan to provide drinking water and resting spaces for women participating in the Attukal Pongala festival, which will be held here on March 3.

He also cited the initiative of the Sree Poobanam Kuzhi Temple at Thachangad, Kasaragod, which organised a community iftar in the temple courtyard for people from the Muslim community who could not participate in the temple’s event due to Ramadan fasting.

Chennithala said such gestures reflect the true spirit of Kerala and demonstrate the state’s tradition of love and coexistence.

“This strong bond of love and coexistence is our real ‘Kerala Story’. Only love and brotherhood can counter Islamophobia and hatred,” he said.

The Congress leader alleged that the film ‘Kerala Story 2 Goes Beyond’ was produced with the agenda of spreading hatred and undermining the state’s communal harmony.

He claimed that the people of Kerala rejected the movie, citing reports that some shows were cancelled due to poor audience response.

He referred to an incident in Kozhikode where a screening was reportedly called off after only two tickets were sold.

Chennithala said the rejection of the film shows that attempts to defame Kerala and promote communal politics would not succeed in the state.

He added that the people of Kerala have once again made it clear that divisive politics has no place in the state.

A division bench of the Kerala High Court on Friday paved the way for the release of 'The Kerala Story 2-Goes Beyond' by staying a single judge order that had put the film’s screening on hold for 15 days.

The single judge, on Thursday, had held that prima facie there was a manifest non-application of mind by the censor board.

The judge also noted that “the possibility of communal disharmony or denigration of a community [was] prima facie involved in the movie,” and that its release without scrutiny by higher authorities would be legally improper. PTI TBA TBA ROH