'The Kerala Story': "Standing with country's daughters or terrorists," asks Anurag Thakur on West Bengal's ban

Shimla (Himachal Pradesh) [India], May 11 : Reacting to the West Bengal government's decision to ban the screening of the movie 'The Kerala Story' in the state, Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Anurag Thakur on Thursday said that the opposition parties should decide whether they are standing with the daughters of the country or the terrorists.

Thakur said that the opposition parties are stooping so low that appeasement politics is more important to them than women's safety in the country.

"Those who are protesting and the opposition must decide whether they are standing with the daughters of the country and nation's safety or with those responsible for terror. The opposition parties are stooping so low that appeasement politics is more important to them than the safety of the women in the country," Anurag Thakur said.

He further said, "I am not asking other states to make the film "The Kerala Story" tax-free but they should not ban it."

Earlier on Monday, the Trinamool Congress government in West Bengal banned the film 'The Kerala Story' citing "maintenance of peace" and to avoid incidents of "hatred and violence" in the state.

West Bengal became the first state to ban the film, which narrates the ordeal of three women who are trafficked to ISIS camps after being converted to Islam through marriage.

There's a continuing political outcry around the movie even as it has been made tax-free in BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh.

Helmed by Sudipto Sen and produced by Vipul Amrutlal Shah, the film has triggered a massive political row with various leaders reacting to the upcoming movie.

The controversy surrounding the film started when its trailer claimed that 32,000 women from Kerala had gone missing and joined the terrorist group ISIS. This statement triggered a heated political debate and many leaders questioned the veracity of the claim.