Kerala's Minister for Tourism, PA Mohammed Riyas, has said the CPM was not telling Governor Arif Mohammed Khan to shut his 'bloody mouth' because they respect his position.

Riyas was responding to Governor Khan's controversial remark on the 'bloody history of Kannur', which is the home district of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.

“Do not think we cannot say, 'shut your bloody mouth, Mr Arif Mohammed Khan', but we respect your position and that is why we don't say it,” said Riyas during the Nava Kerala Sadas at Konni in Pathanamthitta district on Sunday.

CM Vijayan had said earlier on the day that the Governor was provoking SFI protesters with his insensible remarks. But Riyas took it a step further by attempting to school the Governor on the history of Kannur.

“What is the history of Kannur? Is it that bad? In the land of Kannur, many have been martyred while fighting the colonial forces. Kannur played a vital role in the country's freedom struggle. Why does Mr Arif Mohammed Khan have so much grudge toward Kannur and Kerala?” Riyas said in his short but stirring speech.

Pinarayi's role in communal harmony
Riyas claimed that led by the communists of Thalassery, Kannur district had resisted RSS's attempts to sow seeds of communal hatred in the 1970s.

“In December 1970, RSS chose Thalassery in Kannur to spread communal violence. Mr Arif Mohammed Khan must know that. Back then, when there was an attempt to attack a mosque, comrade U K Kunhiraman, a local committee member of Mangattidam, along with other communists, stood guard to protect the mosque. RSS attacked him saying he was a Mappila child.

“To prevent a riot in the region, a black jeep bearing a red flag went around announcing that we should maintain peace. That announcement vehicle proclaimed the need for communal harmony. Those who made the announcements declared that they would preserve peace and harmony in Thalassery even at the cost of their lives. A young man who sat in front of the jeep that day is the chief minister of Kerala today. Mr Arif Mohammed Khan must understand that man was comrade Pinarayi Vijayan,” Riyas said.

'Governor's RSS-style'
Minister Riyas reminded the Governor to learn about the real history of struggles for communal harmony waged in Kannur. “It is to work in accordance with the RSS style of spreading hatred that Arif Mohammed Khan has set out to insult the chief minister and his district, by twisting the history of Kannur and Kerala, by twisting the struggles for peace waged in this land, by ignoring the anti-colonial battles fought here,” Riyas said.