The
Kerala
Story
Controversy:
Shiv
Sena
leader
and
MP
Sanjay
Raut
has
joined
a
growing
number
of
politicians
to
criticize
the
controversial
film,
The
Kerala
Story,
over
its
claim
that
32,000
Hindu
women
in
Kerala
were
forcefully
converted
by
ISIS
in
recent
years.
Raut
expressed
his
views
on
the
matter
in
his
weekly
column
Rokhthok,
published
in
the
Shiv
Sena
mouthpiece
Saamana,
where
he
referred
to
The
Kerala
Story
as
a
propaganda
tool
by
the
BJP
and
the
'second
part
of
The
Kashmir
Files'.
"To
polarise
the
Hindu
and
Muslims
ahead
of
the
Karnataka
polls,
the
BJP
used
The
Kerala
Story
but
this
is
not
a
good
thing",
he
wrote.
Raut
questioned
the
veracity
of
the
film's
claims
and
whether
Hindu
and
Christian
girls
are
really
becoming
victims
of
Islam
in
Kerala.
Additionally,
he
inquired
about
the
authenticity
of
claims
that
unsuspecting
girls
were
being
deceived
under
the
guise
of
"love
jihad" and
coerced
into
becoming
inhumane
killers.
Raut
expressed
his
concern
about
the
inhumanity
of
the
film
and
the
BJP's
promotion
of
it
to
polarize
Hindu
and
Muslim
voters
ahead
of
the
Karnataka
polls.
Raut
also
mentioned
The
Kashmir
Files,
a
film
directed
by
Vivek
Agnihotri
that
presented
a
gruesome
picture
of
atrocities
on
Hindu
Pandits
in
Kashmir.
He
accused
the
BJP
of
using
the
film
for
propaganda
purposes,
including
PM
Modi
and
Home
Minister
Amit
Shah,
who
both
watched
the
movie.
Raut
criticized
the
BJP
for
banning
a
documentary
film
by
the
BBC
on
Gujarat
riots
but
promoting
films
like
The
Kashmir
Files
and
The
Kerala
Story,
which
he
described
as
having
a
plot
of
brutality.
Despite
being
banned
in
West
Bengal,
The
Kerala
Story
has
earned
Rs
135
crore
worldwide,
out
of
which
Rs
113
crore
has
been
collected
in
India.
We
wonder
how
the
makers
of
The
Kerala
Story
would
react
to
Sanjay
Raut's
statements.