A defiant Jaleel paints himself as the Jerry mouse that outsmarts the media cat

Before anything conclusive could be said about his dealings with the UAE Consulate and the import of Quran, Kerala's Higher Education Minister K T Jaleel claims to have had the last laugh.

It is with three 'grinning face' emojis that Jaleel ends a Facebook note he had put up on Sunday, a day after intense agitations were staged across Kerala by the BJP and the Congress demanding his ouster.

The first line of the post is a declaration of defiance, a direct answer to those who had asked him why he had lied to the media about the Enforcement Directorate (ED) questioning him. "I am not interested in revealing the facts to those who daily serve the blackest lies and gossip without a prick of conscience," he said.

And then, as if he was some wronged mythical hero with a Krishna-like cunningness, Jaleel added: "All righteous wars were won by concealing all that should be kept concealed and by revealing what should be revealed to the right people."

It is still not clear how the questioning of a minister by a central agency belongs to the category of things that can be kept concealed in a democracy. What made Jaleel's concealment all the more preposterous, and even funny, was that while he was lying to the media, the ED director himself came on record and confirmed that the minister was questioned. So much for political shrewdness.

It is also a fact that the minister has not clearly accounted for certain happenings. Take for instance, the import of Quran bundles the minister himself had said he had distributed to various charitable organisations in Kerala.

Questions that beg answers

It is still a mystery how the Quran bundles passed Customs clearance when it is laid down that the State Protocol Officer cannot grant exemption certificate (EC) for the import of religious books and related material by a foreign consulate if they are for free public distribution. The State Protocol Officer, too, has told the Customs that no ECs were granted in the last two years.

Further, there is no record of these Quran bundles being accepted by Kerala State Centre for Advanced Printing & Training (C-apt), the vehicle of which was used to transport these Quran bundles.

The minister now says that the Quran bundles were not distributed because of COVID and, therefore, were still kept intact in two centres in Malappuram.

But this provokes a counter. When there is no record to show that the C-apt officials had taken stock of the contents of the bundles that arrived at the C-apt godown, how can it be said with any certainty that the bundles the minister now says are left undistributed were the ones that arrived at C-apt on March 4. Only an investigation can clear the air.

The minister had said the bundles could not be distributed because of COVID. This, however, seems plausible because Ramadan began on April 24, a month after the lockdown was imposed.

Tom and Jerry

When serious questions related to his conduct as minister remain unanswered, it also looks as if Jaleel wants the issue to be brought down to the level of a battle of wits between him and the media.

His Facebook post seems to suggest that he was playing Jerry mouse to the media's Tom cat. "As long as they exist, these people who believed that nothing, not even a fly, would move without their knowledge would never forget the blow they have now received on their head," Jaleel writes.

As if Jaleel hoodwinking the media in a fully covered private car was the most heroic act in this gold smuggling scandal.

Nothing could sound more bizarre. As Jaleel did in his Facebook post on Sunday, we too end this piece with three laughter emojis. 😀😀😀