Kerala unanimously stands by Adoor, says CM Vijayan after visiting filmmaker

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday visited filmmaker Adoor Gopalakrishnan at his residence.

His visit comes in the wake of a BJP leader asking the filmmaker to go to the moon if he could not tolerate 'Jai Sri Ram' slogans.

"RSS-BJP is trying to justify itself after threatening and insulting a respectable person like him. Kerala has a secular culture, it won't work here. Kerala unanimously stands by Adoor," Pinarayi said after meeting the filmmaker.

In a Facebook post, Kerala BJP leader B Gopalakrishnan had said on Friday that the filmmaker is a respected figure but he cannot ''insult'' the culture of the country.

This being the Ramayana month, which is observed in Kerala from July 17 to August 16, people will chant 'Jai Sri Ram', he had said.

"If you are not keen to hear it (Jai Sri Ram), please register your name at Sriharikota and you can go to the moon," Gopalakrishnan's post read.

The BJP leader made this controversial statement after Adoor along with 48 celebrities wrote an open letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over increasing incidents of lynching in the country.

In the letter dated July 23, the celebrities had said that "exemplary punishment" should be meted out "swiftly and surely" in such cases.

In a witty reply to the BJP leader, Adoor had said on Friday that he is ready to go to the moon if he is provided with a room and a ticket.

"It is a good suggestion by this BJP friend that I should go to the moon, if he can book a room for me on the moon and buy me a ticket then it will be a nice stay," he had said.