THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Resisting majority communalism with minority communalism would be suicidal, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan warned on Friday. Inaugurating the valedictory function of the ‘Kerala Yatra’ organised by the Kerala Muslim Jamaat, he asserted that communalism is dangerous and must never be tolerated. “Communalism cannot be fought with more communalism. There can be no soft stance against it,” he said.
He also claimed that it is the Left parties which are defending minority rights and raising their voice to protect them. “However, in many parts of the country, the lives of minorities have become unbearable. Atrocities against Christians are also reported.
However, in Kerala, the minorities enjoy a situation in which they could live peacefully,” he said. Meanwhile, Kanthapuram A P Aboobacker Musliyar has called upon the state government to come up with a white paper to end the ‘controversies’ surrounding minority appeasement.
“If the government issues the details of the benefits and concessions given to Hindu, Christian and Muslim communities in public, it will end the whole speculation surrounding this controversy. All the parties in the state should take a decision unitedly that they would not use communal sentiments or religious beliefs for electoral gains,” he said.
The chief minister further claimed out that after the state government took stringent actions there’s no communal issues in the state for the last one decade. “Communal forces will have opposition towards those who take such a position. They may try to mislead the people,” he said adding that minorities live under fear in other parts of the country. Kerala will not support the politics of hatred or discrimination, he added.
He further pointed at attempts in other parts of the country to portray those belonging to the Muslim community as second-class citizens and keep them away from the mainstream.
Hijab ban and cutting down minority scholarships are all part of these attempts, he said. The chief minister expressed concern over the deliberate moves by the Union Government and some state governments in north India, targeting the Muslim community.
Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan was the chief guest at the valedictory function. Kanthapuram handed over the developmental document to the chief minister at the function.