CPM, Congress wings hold BBC film screenings in Kerala, BJYM protests

CPI(M) student wing SFI took the documentary to campuses, including universities. In Palakkad, Kozhikode and Kalpetta in Wayanad, while BJP Yuva Morcha protested against the screening.

Earlier in the day, after the youth outfits announced the screening, BJP state president K Surendran petitioned Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, seeking his intervention to prevent the screening. But, the state leaderships of CPI(M) and Congress supported the screening.

CPI(M) state secretary M V Govindan said the ban on the documentary is anti-democratic. “In a democratic society, ideas should not be banned. If ideas are banned, people would develop a likeness towards that banned thought. A mass resistance should emerge against the move to prevent the show of the documentary,” he said.

Senior Congress legislator and former Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala said banning the documentary amounted to infringement of the freedom of expression.

BJP leader and Union Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan said the screening of the documentary should not be allowed in Kerala. “It is an anti-national move and the Chief Minister should intervene to stop the screening,’’ he said.

Meanwhile, the BJP on Tuesday received support from unexpected quarters, with senior Congress leader and former Kerala Chief Minister A K Antony’s son Anil saying that placing the views of the British broadcaster over Indian institutions would “undermine” the country’s sovereignty.

“Despite large differences with BJP, I think those (in India) placing views of BBC, a state sponsored channel with a long history of (alleged India) prejudices, and of Jack Straw, the brain behind the Iraq war, over (Indian) institutions is setting a dangerous precedence, will undermine our sovereignty,” Anil tweeted.