Ramesh Chennithala hails communal harmony initiatives, criticises ‘Kerala Story 2’ movie
Thiruvananthapuram (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.
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Killing of Khamenei cynical violation of human morality, international law: Putin
Moscow (PTI): The killing of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was a cynical violation of all norms of human morality and international law, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared in his message to his Tehranian counterpart, the Kremlin said Sunday.
Khamenei was killed in an airstrike in Tehran on Saturday during a joint Israel-US attack on Iran.
“Please accept my deepest condolences in connection with the assassination of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Seyyed Ali Khamenei, and members of his family, committed in a cynical violation of all norms of human morality and international law,” Putin said in his condolence message.
Putin's condolence message to Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian was published on the Kremlin portal.
Earlier on Saturday, Russia condemned the US-Israeli joint strikes on Iran qualifying it as an “unprovoked” aggression against a sovereign state in violation of international law and called for immediate return to diplomacy.
The Russian Foreign Ministry also described the US and Israeli forces' strikes against the Iranian territory as “a pre-planned” act of aggression against an independent UN member state.
Putin also conducted an emergency meeting of the National Security Council online on Saturday to discuss the emerging situation following the US-Israeli strikes and Iran’s retaliation.
Meanwhile, according to reports more than 2,00,000 Russians are stuck in the region due to closure of their airspaces by Iran and Gulf countries.
The situation in the Middle East and the airport closures have affected not only organised tourists from Russia registered with tour operators, but also those travelling on business trips and independently, state-run TASS news agency reported.
“Approximately 2,00,000 people are unable to leave the UAE or return from vacations in the Maldives and other countries,” Alexey Volkov, president of the National Union of Hospitality Industry, told TASS.
UAE and its airports have become a main hub of access to Russia since the Ukraine conflict and closure of EU air space for civilian air traffic under sanction on Moscow.
“The situation remains complex and unpredictable: drone and missile strikes have hit key tourist locations in the UAE, including its most famous hotels.
“And then there are those who aren't counted as tourists at all, but are travelling around the world for business—the Middle East, for example, is currently a major business hub, home to a significant amount of Russian capital, investment, and business,” Volkov said.
