Mamata Banerjee govt defends ban on The Kerala Files in SC, says audience make ‘objectional comments’ seeing Hindus tortured, ‘hate speech’ in movie hurts religious feelings
Op IndiaOn Tuesday, May 16, the West Bengal government led by CM Mamata Banerjee submitted an affidavit in which it defended a ban on the film The Kerala Story claiming that the movie contains ‘manipulated facts and hate speech’ in several scenes and may hurt the religious sentiments leading to communal disharmony and pose a law and order situation. In its affidavit, the West Bengal government stated that it decided to ban the film’s screening in the state by invoking its statutory power under Section 6 of the West Bengal Cinema Regulation Act 1954 based on intelligence information indicating that the ‘hate speech’ in several scenes of the film “may hurt communal sentiments and cause disharmony between communities, which will eventually lead to a law and order situation.” Moreover, the Mamata government also claimed that the audience makes objectionable comments when they see scenes in the movie where Hindu and Christian girls are tormented. While hearing the plea filed by The Kerala Story makers challenging the ban, the Supreme Court on May 12 issued a notice to the West Bengal government seeking to know the rationale behind banning the screening of The Kerala Story movie in the state. Earlier, OpIndia reported that the Tamil Nadu government claimed before the Supreme Court on May 15 that there is no prohibition on screening of the film ‘The Kerala Story’ in the state.