Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday condemned the reported sequel to The Kerala Story as a deliberate hate campaign aimed at tarnishing the state's image and eroding its secular ethos.
In a statement, Vijayan described the original film as riddled with "blatant falsehoods, communal propaganda and anti-Kerala narratives," which Keralites had firmly rejected. He accused it of distorting the state's reality under the guise of creativity.
"Kerala responded by asserting the ‘real Kerala story’, one rooted in fraternity and secularism," he said, charging Sangh Parivar-linked groups with amplifying the film's narrative to vilify inter-faith marriages as forced conversions or conspiracies.
Vijayan stressed Kerala's enduring tradition of communal harmony and warned against portraying it as a hub of extremism. He questioned inconsistent film certification, citing the denial of clearance to a movie titled Beef while divisive content like this sequel advances.
"False propaganda cannot erode Kerala’s secular foundation," he asserted, urging citizens to reject division, counter misinformation with facts, and unite for constitutional values.
" Kerala is our pride. Truth must prevail over falsehood. We must stand together for that," Vijayan concluded.
(Inputs from IANS)