Thiruvananthapuram: Lashing out at the alleged remarks made against Prophet Mohammed by a former BJP spokesperson and an expelled party leader recently, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday charged the Sangh Parivar with bringing the country to a “state of shame” and urged the Centre to take steps to “punish the hate propagandists.”
Leader of Opposition in the Kerala Assembly, V D Satheesan, also condemned the remarks, saying they have brought shame to secular India.
“The Sangh Parivar forces have brought our country, which is revered by all as a secular democracy, to a state of shame in front of the world,” Vijayan said in a statement.
He termed as “communally venomous” the remarks of former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma and expelled Delhi media head Naveen Kumar Jindal against the Prophet and alleged “the Hindutva communal politics that is marginalising the Muslim community is destroying” not only the social security of the country but also the economic stability.
He said many Islamic countries, which employ millions of Indians and make a significant contribution to our economy and development, have become vocal in their opposition to the politics of hatred of the BJP and the Sangh Parivar.
“These are all countries that have very friendly relations with India”, the CM said.
Vijayan alleged the BJP leaders’ insulting words were part of the Sangh Parivar agenda and said it reflects the thought of former RSS chief late M S Golwalkar, who according to him, saw Muslims, Christians and communists as internal enemies.
He alleged they were utterly ignoring the Constitution which gives every citizen the right to believe in the religions of his choice.
Vijayan said the Constitution does not give anyone the right to insult or deny the faith and culture of another religion.
“The Central Government should take action to stop the vicious attempts to endanger the great secular heritage of our country and to punish the hate propagandists. In addition, there must be a united opposition from the people to the communal forces. This is inevitable for the future of the country”, Vijayan said.
In a tweet, Congress leader Satheesan said, “#BJP spokespersons have brought shame to this secular Nation. By insulting the Prophet and a religion BJP has made India look like a theocracy. What else can be expected of a party which is hell bent on wrecking everything we have built up and cherished?”
The BJP on Sunday suspended its national spokesperson Nupur Sharma and expelled Jindal as the row over their alleged derogatory remarks against Prophet Mohammed escalated with protests from some Muslim countries.
Amid demonstrations by Muslim groups and the sharp reaction from countries like Kuwait, Qatar and Iran, the BJP issued a statement asserting that it respects all religions and strongly denounces insults of any religious personality.
Sharma’s comments, made in a TV debate nearly 10 days ago, and Jindal’s now-deleted tweets sparked a Twitter trend calling for a boycott of Indian products in some countries.
After the action, Sharma unconditionally withdrew her controversial statement made in the TV debate and claimed her comments were a reaction to “continuous insult and disrespect towards our Mahadev” (Lord Shiva).
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