'The Kerala Story'-like situation prevailing in Bhopal: BJP MP Pragya

BJP Lok Sabha member Pragya claimed the situation depicted in the controversial movie The Kerala Story prevails in the Madhya Pradesh capital Bhopal, her parliamentary constituency, too

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Lok Sabha member Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur on Monday claimed the situation depicted in the controversial movie The Kerala Story prevails in the Madhya Pradesh capital Bhopal, her parliamentary constituency, too.

"The Kerala Story", directed by Sudipto Sen and produced by Vipul Amrutlal Shah, depicts how women from Kerala were converted to Islam and recruited by the Islamic State terrorist group. The film was released on May 5. Thakur, an accused in the September 2008 bomb blast at Malegaon town in North Maharashtra, also said filmmakers were contacting her with proposals to make a movie on her life. Asked about her reaction to The Kerala Story, the Member of Parliament from Bhopal told reporters she hasn't watched the movie, but has gone through videos of the victims, whose stories were said to have been shown in the film. She said the film may be based on true stories of three persons (told through characters portrayed in the movie) but "thousands of people" have faced such situations. This is not happening in Kerala alone. This is happening in Bhopal also on a large scale. We have been receiving information about such cases. I had told the media earlier as well that girls are being trapped in 'love jihad' and atrocities are being committed on them, Thakur alleged. '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.

The ruling party MP said every Hindu girl and woman should watch the movie so that they can ensure their own safety and that of other children. Not only girls, even boys are being radicalized and pushed towards terrorism, she alleged. A conspiracy has been hatched under which Hindu boys and girls and are being converted, tortured and motivated for terrorism. They are being made to stand against the country by changing their faith. This conspiracy has been hatched by Pakistan and some other countries. Traitors living in India are carrying out such activities under their protection, the BJP MP said. Thakur said several directors, producers and writers have contacted her for a movie on her life, but she has not yet taken any decision. "Only time will tell what to do. But I will do whatever is necessary to awaken the nation," she said.