"Standing With Daughters Or...": Anurag Thakur On "The Kerala Story" Ban

Reacting to the 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 the opposition parties should decide whether they are standing with the daughters of the country or terrorists.

Mr Thakur said 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 the 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 tax-free but they should not ban it."

On Monday, the Trinamool Congress government in West Bengal banned the film "The Kerala Story" citing it was trying to "maintain peace" and avoid incidents of "hatred and violence" in the state.

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.

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

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)