'The Kerala Story': UP BJP leader says those aiming for Ghazwa-e-Hind being unmasked

Uttar Pradesh BJP secretary Abhijat Mishra, who recently hosted a screening of the controversial film The Kerala Story for college girls at a theatre, on Tuesday said those aiming for Ghazwa-e-Hind holy war against India are being unmasked.Mishra also shared an illustration on Twitter, insinuating that the Congress and some opposition leaders were taking instructions from terrorists to get the film banned.The illustration carried images of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi.

Uttar Pradesh BJP secretary Abhijat Mishra, who recently hosted a screening of the controversial film ''The Kerala Story'' for college girls at a theatre, on Tuesday said those aiming for ''Ghazwa-e-Hind'' (holy war against India) are being unmasked.

Mishra also shared an illustration on Twitter, insinuating that the Congress and some opposition leaders were taking instructions from ''terrorists'' to get the film banned.

The illustration carried images of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi. It showed these leaders being told to get the movie banned by ''any means'' and they responding to the instruction via speech bubbles.

''Wake up India wake up. #kerla_story. Those who conceptualised Ghazwa-e-Hind are getting exposed. The intention of those opposing the film is that the daughters of the country remain unsafe,'' Mishra tweeted.

The film, starring Adah Sharma, was released in cinemas on Friday and deals with the events behind the alleged disappearance of thousands of women from Kerala. It depicts how women from Kerala were forced to convert to Islam and recruited by the terrorist group Islamic State.

The film has generated a political storm as some parties, including the Congress and the CPI(M), have accused it of false portrayal against a community and the BJP has asserted the film depicts the ''truth''.

The West Bengal government has banned the screening of the movie it in the state, but Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh have announced it will be tax-free.

Over the weekend, Mishra organised a screening of the film at a theatre in Lucknow for college girls. He said the film should be shown to young girls "to prevent them from love jihad".

'Love jihad' is a term often used by right-wing activists to allege a ploy by Muslim men to lure Hindu women into religious conversion through marriage.

Mishra said the movie is based on ''true events'' and shows how gullible girls are manipulated and then converted. ''The message which I want to convey to these girls, through this movie, is that they need to be aware and should not fall into any kind of traps, and focus on their studies,'' he said.

A plea has also been moved in the Supreme Court against a Kerala High Court order refusing to stay the release of ''The Kerala Story''. The top court is set to hear the plea on May 15.