Withdraw narcotic jihad statement: Muslim groups to Pala bishop

KOZHIKODE: Muslim organisations have asked Pala Bishop Mar Joseph Kallarangatt to withdraw his controversial statement on ‘narcotic jihad.’ After a meeting attended by the representatives of various organisations here on Wednesday, IUML leader Panakkad Syed Sadiq Ali Shihab Thangal told reporters that the unanimous feeling was that the Bishop should withdraw his comments to prevent recurrence of such remarks from any quarter in the future. 

“Kerala is known for its communal amity and we should preserve it. No religious leader should make any immature comment,” he said. Thangal added the government should not remain a mute spectator when such things happen. 

‘Bishop’s remarks were ‘warnings’ against certain anti-social activities’
Kochi: Syro-Malabar Church came up with a statement on Wednesday justifying the remarks on ‘narcotic jihad’ made by Pala Bishop Joseph Mar Kallarangatt. In the statement, the Church said that the remarks were not against any particular religion or community but were ‘warnings’ against certain anti-social activities. The Church termed the controversies that erupted over the ‘narcotic jihad’ remarks presently as ‘unfortunate’.  “’Narco jihad’ was a term that was used in the thesis that was published by ‘European Foundation for South Asian Studies’ in 2017, relating to the narcotics sale in Afghanistan. The thesis states that terrorist organisations are involved in the sale of narcotics based on factual evidence,” it said. 

Satheesan asks CM to come clean on ‘narcotic jihad’ row
T’Puram: A day after Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said Pala Bishop Joseph Kallarangatt shouldn’t have made the ‘narcotic jihad’ remark, Opposition leader V D Satheesan on Wednesday asked the CM to come clean on the issue.  Satheesan, while speaking to reporters after inaugurating INTUC’s dharna in front of the Kerala State Electricity Regulatory Commission office here, wondered why the CM commented on the controversy after Cooperation Minister V N Vasavan had termed it a ‘closed chapter’. He was referring to Vasavan’s comments after the latter called on the bishop at the Bishop House.