Kerala Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan asked all political parties to unite and isolate forces responsible for the "barbaric" attack on the lecturer at Moovattupuzha yesterday.
"All political parties should come together to isolate such forces," he said in reply to a submission by P J Joseph (KC-M) in the Assembly.
The minister said a seven-member gang attacked T J Joseph, a Malayalam lecturer at Newman College in Thodupuzha and chopped off his right palm.
Balakrishnan said police are questioning the suspects and stringent action would be taken against the culprits.
He said the government would verify if there were lapses on the part of police in providing protection to Joseph, who was suspended from the college after the question paper row.
Intervening, Opposition Leader Oommen Chandy said the attack was part of a "conspiracy" to destroy the communal harmony in the state.
Joseph, a lecturer in a Christian-run college, was arrested in April last after the question paper which he had set for the B.Com II year internal exams sparked protests by Muslim outfits, which claimed a reference to Prophet Mohammed in it had hurt their religious sentiments.
He was later suspended from the college and was out on bail since his arrest.