A group of netizens in Kerala will hold the "Kiss of Love" drive on Sunday to protest against moral policing by right-wing groups.
A day after Kerala high Court refused to intervene, the organisers said they would go ahead with the protest, even as they were yet to get permission from the police.
Though the police had denied permission for the event, they said they would only intervene if it created a law and order problem.
Police have tightened vigil in the city. Many organizations including, Shiv Sena, have threatened to disrupt the event saying it was against the culture of the country.
Stressing that it was "not a kiss fest" but a gathering of like minded people to raise awareness against moral policing, they said they would next focus on creating awareness about the deadly AIDS.
'Free Thinkers', a Facebook group, is organising the programme on Sunday at the Marine drive grounds to protest against moral policing. The organisers expect about 700-1000 people would participate.
"There is no question of backtracking.
The protest will be held as scheduled at 5:oopm at the venue with participants holding placards," Rahul Pasupalan, IT professional and short film maker and Jijo Kuriakose, a researcher and members of 'Free Thinkers' told reporters. On Saturday, the organisers had received a shot in the arm with the Kerala high court refusing to interfere with the event after the state government assured action would be taken in the event of any illegal activities. Two petitions seeking to prohibit the event was disposed by the court recording the government's submission. "This is not a kiss fest. It is a gathering of like minded people to protest against moral policing. We are independent thinkers and this is a gathering of the Facebook users," they said, adding young and old couple, parents and youngsters were all welcome to participate in the event, which is a platform to protest against moral policing. Rahul said though they approached police four days back with a request for permission to conduct the event, they were yet to receive any intimation allowing or denying permission. Pointing out that kissing and hugging was only a form of agitation they had chosen to raise awareness against moral policing, Rahul said it was precisely due to the novel form of protest they had adopted that so much heat had been generated. "Isn't everyone talking about the event?" he asked. "Because we selected this form of protest, everyone is discussing it. We want to create an awareness against moral policing," they said. Jijo Kuriakose said the group would next focus their attention on creating awareness about the deadly AIDS. Interestingly parallel to the ‘kiss fest’ a slew of other protests are expected to take place near the venue. Leading Malayalam literary critic M Leelavathy and Kochi Mayor Tony Chammany are among the main participants expected to join a parallel protest event being organized by the Kerala Students’ Union, student wing of the Congress. The campaign was launched on social media after a coffee shop in north Kerala’s Kozhikode city was vandalised last week by a group of people who criticised the public display of affection by some couples there. The attack came after a news channel owned by a political party carried a report on October 23 with visuals of “immoral activities” allegedly taking place at the establishment, showing young couples kissing and embracing. (With PTI inputs)
The protest will be held as scheduled at 5:oopm at the venue with participants holding placards," Rahul Pasupalan, IT professional and short film maker and Jijo Kuriakose, a researcher and members of 'Free Thinkers' told reporters. On Saturday, the organisers had received a shot in the arm with the Kerala high court refusing to interfere with the event after the state government assured action would be taken in the event of any illegal activities. Two petitions seeking to prohibit the event was disposed by the court recording the government's submission. "This is not a kiss fest. It is a gathering of like minded people to protest against moral policing. We are independent thinkers and this is a gathering of the Facebook users," they said, adding young and old couple, parents and youngsters were all welcome to participate in the event, which is a platform to protest against moral policing. Rahul said though they approached police four days back with a request for permission to conduct the event, they were yet to receive any intimation allowing or denying permission. Pointing out that kissing and hugging was only a form of agitation they had chosen to raise awareness against moral policing, Rahul said it was precisely due to the novel form of protest they had adopted that so much heat had been generated. "Isn't everyone talking about the event?" he asked. "Because we selected this form of protest, everyone is discussing it. We want to create an awareness against moral policing," they said. Jijo Kuriakose said the group would next focus their attention on creating awareness about the deadly AIDS. Interestingly parallel to the ‘kiss fest’ a slew of other protests are expected to take place near the venue. Leading Malayalam literary critic M Leelavathy and Kochi Mayor Tony Chammany are among the main participants expected to join a parallel protest event being organized by the Kerala Students’ Union, student wing of the Congress. The campaign was launched on social media after a coffee shop in north Kerala’s Kozhikode city was vandalised last week by a group of people who criticised the public display of affection by some couples there. The attack came after a news channel owned by a political party carried a report on October 23 with visuals of “immoral activities” allegedly taking place at the establishment, showing young couples kissing and embracing. (With PTI inputs)
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