Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan asks Doordarshan to withdraw screening of 'The Kerala Story'
Thiruvananthapuram, Apr 4: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan Thursday condemned the Doordarshan's decision to telecast "The Kerala Story" and asked the public broadcaster to withdraw from screening the controversial movie, saying it would only "exacerbate communal tensions" ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.
He also asked the national broadcaster not to become a "propaganda machine" for the BJP and the RSS.
"The decision by @DDNational to broadcast the film 'Kerala Story', which incites polarisation, is highly condemnable. The national news broadcaster should not become a propaganda machine of the BJP-RSS combine and withdraw from screening a film that only seeks to exacerbate communal tensions ahead of the general elections.
"Kerala will remain steadfast in opposing such malicious attempts to sow hatred," Vijayan said in a post on X.
Doordarshan has announced that the movie will be broadcast on April 5.
In a statement, the ruling CPI(M) also asked the public broadcaster to withdraw its decision to telecast the movie.
The party asked it not to stand with the "BJP's attempt to polarise" the secular Kerala society.
The state secretariat of the CPI(M) alleged that the BJP decided to screen the controversial movie as the general elections are nearing, hoping to advance their political agenda since the saffron party was unable to make inroads in Kerala society.
"This amounts to challenging Kerala. Kerala had witnessed strong protests when it was released. The censor board itself had removed 10 scenes from the movie," CPI(M) said.
A public sector broadcast service should not stand with the "BJP's attempt to polarise" the secular Kerala society, it said.
The Kerala High Court had last year refused to stay the release of the film, stating that the movie trailer does not contain anything offensive to any particular community as a whole.
The court had said that the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) has examined the movie and found that it is suitable for public exhibition.
The movie's trailer was severely criticised and challenged before the court for "falsely" claiming that 32,000 women from Kerala got converted and radicalised and were deployed in terror missions both in India and the world.
The BJP had alleged that there was an unofficial ban on the movie in the theatres of the state.
Strong protest was held by the CPI(M) and the Congress against the movie when it was released in 2023.
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Bhojshala complex registered as 'mosque' in old revenue records: Muslim side to MP HC
Indore (PTI): The disputed Bhojshala Temple-Kamal Maula Mosque complex has historically been registered as a 'mosque' in revenue records and available sources don't clearly mention any Saraswati temple established by then-king Raja Bhoj, the Muslim side has told the Madhya Pradesh High Court.
The Hindu community considers Bhojshala a temple dedicated to Goddess Saraswati, while the Muslim side calls the 11th-century monument Kamal Maula Mosque. The disputed complex located in Dhar district is protected by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).
During the hearing before the HC's Indore bench of Justices Vijay Kumar Shukla and Justice Alok Awasthi on Wednesday, Qazi Moinuddin questioned two PILs filed as intervenors in the Bhojshala case by an organisation named Hindu Front for Justice, one Kuldeep Tiwari and another individual.
Moinuddin claims to be a descendant of Sufi saint Maulana Kamaluddin Chishti and the 'Sajjadanashin' (spiritual head, guru, or successor of a Sufi shrine, khanqah, or religious site).
The PILs state that Bhojshala is actually a Saraswati temple and only Hindus should be granted the right to worship at the disputed complex.
Moinuddin's lawyer, Noor Ahmed Sheikh, claimed in the court that his client's ancestors, who are descendants of Maulana Kamaluddin Chishti, have historically held titles to the complex, and the site was also recorded as a "mosque" in government revenue records.
He contended that those associated with the management of the Kamal Maula Mosque, located within the complex, have been in "continuous and peaceful occupation" of the site for a long time.
Citing Muslim law, Sheikh argued that in the case of religious property, particularly a mosque or its related properties, officials such as the Sajjadanashin and Mutawalli (person entrusted with management, maintenance, and administration of a Waqf), and their descendants, not only have the right to intervene, but also have the right to manage and use such a structure.
Citing provisions of the Ancient Monuments Preservation Act 1904, the Muslim side's lawyer said the term "in-charge of the property" is used in this law, which makes it clear that the person or party who has been in charge of a property for a long time has rights over it.
During the hearing, Touseef Warsi, the lawyer representing the Maulana Kamaluddin Welfare Society of Dhar, claimed that Hindu parties in both PILs had made "misleading representations" regarding historical facts before the high court.
He further claimed that available historical sources do not clearly mention the existence of a Saraswati temple established by Raja Bhoj, the legendary king of the Parmar dynasty who ruled Dhar from 1010 to 1055.
The ASI, a central government agency, has adopted three different positions in the lawsuits filed regarding the Bhojshala dispute, changing its answers from time to time, and this situation raises serious questions about judicial scrutiny of the complex, Warsi submitted.
He raised objections regarding the ASI's process of scientific survey of the Bhojshala complex, carried out on the HC order in 2024, and the method of videography and requested the court to examine these objections.
The hearing in the Bhojshala case will continue on Thursday.
The HC has been regularly hearing four petitions and one writ appeal since April 6, contesting the religious nature of the monument.
