Thiruvananthapuram: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Sunday that he would take strict legal action against a union minister and BJP leaders who unleashed a wave of communally-charged comments in the wake of the Kalamassery blasts that killed two and injured over 50 followers of Jehovah's Witnesses.
Though he did not name the minister, Pinarayi was especially critical of Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar's remarks. Pinarayi quoted the BJP MP's tweet in full. "Dirty shameless appeasement politics by a discredited CM (and HM) @pinarayivijayan besieged by corruption charges. Sitting in Delhi and protesting against Israel, when in Kerala open calls by Terrorist Hamas for Jihad is causing attacks and bomb blasts on innocent Christians."
Pinarayi said this came from a communal mindset. "This is a highly prejudiced approach with a clear intention to target a particular community. It is part of their communal agenda," Pinarayi said. "On what basis has he made these statements? Was he in possession of any sensitive information that prompted him to make such a statement? This is a grave issue. People should not be misled. We will take this on legally," the Chief Minister said.
Before Dominic Martin made his confession, Chandrasekhar had also said that the blast happened just 24 hours after the LDF government gave permission to an event that had a Hamas leader inciting people to violence against non-believers. The minister was referring to the online address made by former Hamas chief Khaled Mashal at a meeting organised in support of Palestine by the Solidarity Youth Movement in Malappuram on October 28.
Another of Chandrasekhar’s aggressive tweets on Sunday virtually stated that the blast was the direct consequence of Mashal's speech. "Price of appeasement politics of Cong and CPM will always be borne by innocents of all communities - That is what history has taught us. Brazen appeasement politics - shameless even by Cong/CPM/UPA/INDIA alliance standards to invite Terrorist Hamas to spread hate & call for "Jihad" in Kerala. This is height of irresponsible madness politics. Enough!"
The Chief Minister said Chandrasekhar's associates, too, had made such thoughtless communally-tinged comments. Amit Malviya, the in-charge of BJP's National Information & Technology Department, on Sunday alluded to the anti-Israel stand of the top political parties in Kerala, hinting at the possible link between appeasement politics and the Kalamassery blast. "The Congress and Left parties appear to portray Israel as the villain and Hamas as messengers of peace. This political competition in whitewashing Hamas is a cause for concern as pointed out by Bishop Tharayil."
On October 27, the Auxiliary Bishop of the Syro-Malabar Archeparchy of Changanassery Thomas Tharayil expressed disappointment over attempts to whitewash Hamas.
While another union minister V Muraleedharan was cautious in his public utterances, BJP state president K Surendran attributed the bomb blasts to the appeasement politics of the CPM. He said the government's reluctance to take action even after a Hamas leader made provocative statements at a meeting organised by the youth wing of the Jamaat-e-Islami was "suspicious". "This should be read along with the failure of the government to act even after anti-national slogans were raised at the pro-Hamas rally organised by the Muslim League in Kozhikode," Surendran said.
The Chief Minister said legal action would be taken against all communally motivated remarks, whether by anonymous people on social media or by union ministers.