Uttarakhand Chief Minister Watches 'The Kerala Story' With Wife, Cabinet Colleagues

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami watched "The Kerala Story" along with his wife, cabinet and party colleagues here and recommended it to everyone, saying the film promotes awareness about religious conversion and terrorism.

"The Kerala Story shows how terrorism is being spread in the country without guns and bombs. It shows the truth of how girls are being brainwashed and converted," he said in a statement after watching the movie on Tuesday.

The film starring Adah Sharma was released in cinemas on May 5. Directed by Sudipto Sen, it depicts how women from Kerala were forced to convert to Islam and recruited by the terror group Islamic State (IS).

The film has run into rough weather as opposition parties accused its makers of peddling hate. Calling it a film that introduces people to reality and promotes public awareness about religious conversions and terrorism, Mr Dhami said everyone should see it.

"Religious conversions are taking place in different parts of Uttarakhand too. It will become a big problem in the future," he claimed. He added that to eradicate the practice, a strict anti-conversion law was brought into force in the state which gives a maximum punishment of 10 years' rigorous imprisonment to those who convert people forcibly or by alluring them. Conversion cases have been divided into two categories, Mr Dhami said.

For a single conversion, the punishment is two to seven years of imprisonment besides a fine of Rs 25,000, while for collective conversion, the punishment is three to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs 50,000, he said.

"It is a significant step by the state government towards preventing unnecessary conversions and preserving Devbhoomi's fundamental identity," he said.

Apart from stopping conversions, the state government is also strictly removing encroachments from government land, the chief minister said, adding that illegal encroachments will not be tolerated.

Mr Dhami was accompanied by his wife Geeta, cabinet colleagues Premchand Aggarwal and Ganesh Joshi, Dehradun mayor Sunil Uniyal Gama, BJP MLA Durgeshwar Lal, BJP Mahila Morcha president Asha Nautiyal and party leader Ajeya Kumar for the movie screening at a city mall.

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