NEW DELHI: Kerala BJP president Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Thursday slammed chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan over his remarks opposing the sequel to The Kerala Story, accusing him of hypocrisy and attempting to distract people from governance issues.Speaking to ANI, Chandrasekhar said that the chief minister was reacting differently now compared to earlier instances involving freedom of expression.“Pinarayi Vijayan has 45 days more as Chief Minister, and he knows that on the 46th day, he is going to have to move his residence. When a movie came out which is against the BJP, we did not protest or say anything. He quoted Freedom of Expression. How is it that when somebody else makes a movie against his political thinking, it suddenly becomes a problem? This is hypocrisy. This is basically an attempt to distract the people of Kerala from his 10 years of failure,” he said.The Kerala BJP chief asserted that filmmakers have the right to create content and that citizens have the right to choose what they watch.“I wanted to tell you, Pinarayi Vijayan, that nobody has appointed you protector. There is no need for you to act like you’re a protector of any community. Every Indian today, every Malayali, is given the same fundamental rights. Stop making fools out of people. This movie will be shown because just as much as you have the right to watch a movie, I have the right to watch a movie. Just as any director has the right to make a movie, this director also has the right to make a movie,” he added.Chandrasekhar also urged CM Vijayan not to create fear or threaten people over the film’s release.“If you have a problem with it, and if there is something illegal in the movie, go to court. But don’t try to threaten people. Don’t try to use your Chief Minister’s position to create fear amongst people that we will not allow,” he said.Earlier in the day, Vijayan expressed strong opposition to reports of a sequel to The Kerala Story. In a post on social media platform X, he alleged that the sequel was another attempt to spread communal discord in the state.“The reports regarding the release of a sequel to the hate-mongering film ‘The Kerala Story’ should be seen with utmost gravity. Having already seen through the communal agenda and blatant lies of the first part, Kerala will once again reject this attempt to demonise our secular fabric with contempt. It is shocking how fabricated narratives aimed at inciting communal discord receive a free pass, while critical expressions of art get gagged. We must stand united against these attempts to paint our land of harmony as a hub of terror. The truth shall always prevail,” Vijayan said.The makers recently released the trailer of The Kerala Story 2, which portrays Hindu women being trapped by Muslim men in the name of love. The film is written by Amarnath Jha and Vipul Amrutlal Shah and directed by Kamakhya Narayan Singh.The film is scheduled to be released in theatres on February 27.
