Thiruvananthapuram: Senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala has come forward onto the controversial topic of The Kerala Story asking the government not to show the movie. He said that the movie is a violation of freedom of expression. He made these statements through his Facebook post.
The Congress leader said that the Indian National Congress always had a legacy of upholding freedom of expression and accepts everything in that regard. But using this freedom for disrupting the harmony and unity between different communities is a problem that the Indian National Congress opposes irrespective of whichever side it comes from. He also uses an example of the drama, Kakukali to balance out his statement. In the end of the post he also added that any creations that have the capability to destroy our heritage and traditions should be viewed with great caution and to reject if necessary.
Even so, when looking back to our yesteryears we can see that Ramesh Chennithala had a different statement regarding a novel called Meesha which was being published in Mathrabhumi. The novel was criticised for its obscene portrayal of Hindu community and at that time Ramesh Chennithala through his facebook post had said that, “Those who are trying to cause harm to the storyteller is leading the state to a darker stage. Those who are trying to hunt the storyteller because of the conversation by the character he has written does not understand literature and culture.”
He also added that he had contacted the writer of the novel, S Harish and expressed his solidarity to the writer. Also offering the writer the opportunity to publish his novel through his son’s publication company, Sreshta publications. Following, this the Hindu community had protested against his facebook post.
When Pavithran Theekkuni published his poem “Parda” he had to remove it within a day of publishing. And when P. Jimshar who was member of SFI published a collection of stories titled, “Padachonte Chitra Pradarshanam” he was subjected to serious attacks. During both these issues Ramesh Chennithala remained silent.
It is believed that Ramesh Chennithala’s opposition to The Kerala Story is his way to garner favour with the fundamentalist elements of the Muslim community.
Ramesh Chennithala has also opposed the drama Kakukali in a bid to balance his views on the movie The Kerala Story. The controversy regarding Kakukali happened weeks ago, which at the time no one had conveyed their opinions on.
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