Kerala Police restriction on black clothes or masks in events attended by chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan has evoked sharp criticism on social media.

Actors Hareesh Peradi and Joy Mathew joined the club of critics. Hareesh shared a photo of him in black attire on Facebook with a Malayalam caption ‘protest against a frightened fascist’.   

While Joy Mathew shared a photo of him in black attire mocking the move of police. “If Karl Max, the propounder of Communism said `Religion is the opium of the people”, now black is the religion that serves as opium.” It may be noted that the Joy used the Malayalam word ‘karupp’ which is used to refer both black and opium.