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The CPM Kerala leadership has distanced itself from a party leader's remark that the Communist party's influence made many Muslim women do away with hijab (head scarf).
With the Muslim outfits as well as Opposition flaying the leader's remark, CPM state secretary M V Govindan said that it was not the party's official stand.
Muslims, who constitute 27 per cent of Kerala's population (as per 2011 census), is a crucial vote bank of the state.
CPM state committee member K Anil Kumar made the controversial statement at an atheists' meet held in Thiruvananthapuram on Monday.
He said that the Communist party's influence made many women of Malappuram, a Muslim dominated district, give up hijab. He also said that if Muslim women are not starving, they should be thanking the Communist party.
While Muslim religious outfits were irked over Anil Kumar's remarks, the Congress and IUML leaders slammed the CPM leader's remark and said that it exposed the anti-religion stand of the Communists.
They also raked up the Sabarimala women entry issue in which the CPM government in Kerala tried to enforce the Supreme Court directive to do away with the ban on entry of women in the 10-50 age group.
CPM state secretary told the media on Monday that choice of dress is every individual's constitutional right. No one should interfere in that. Hence, the party refrained from making any remarks on the dressing of individuals. Anil Kumar's remarks on hijab was against the party's official stand, he said.
Opposition leaders V D Satheesan and K Sudhakaran flayed that there was no difference between BJP and CPM. One bans the hijab, and the other makes tall claims over women doing away with it.
Samastha Kerala Jamiyyathul Ulama, a key Sunni Muslim body in Kerala, also slammed the CPM leader's remark. Samastha leader Abdu Samad Pookottur said that the CPM state committee leader's remark reflected the party's opinion even if CPM rejects the remarks for vote bank politics.
IUML state general secretary P M A Salam asked whether the CPM was working towards eliminating poverty or hijab.