JOIN USKerala CM presents facts and figures to counter 'narcotic jihad' remark
A day after strongly condemning the 'narcotic and love jihad' statement of a bishop in Kerala, Chief Minster Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday further countered the bishop's contention by presenting figures and facts regarding the narcotic cases accused and Malayalis who joined extremist outfits.
Vijayan said that among those accused in the narcotic cases in 2020 in the state, 49 per cent were from Hindu community, 34 per cent from the Muslim community and 15 per cent from the Christian community. The involvement of members of Muslims in the narcotic cases in Kerala was only proportional to their population.
He also pointed out that a majority of the 100 odd Malayalis who joined ISIS were from the Muslim community. Among them, 72 were attracted to ISIS and other extremist outfits after going to other countries for jobs. Among the 28 Malayalis who crossed borders to join IS from Kerala, only five were non-Muslims. Two women among them were married to Christian youths. Probes into some specific allegations of Hindu women marrying Muslim youths were also found to be baseless.
Vijayan said that these facts disprove the remarks of the bishop that jihadis were trying to destroy non-Muslims through 'love jihad' and 'narcotic jihad'.
On questions whether the government would ask Mar Joseph Kallarangatt, bishop of Pala in Kottayam district, who made the controversial remark, to withdraw it, Vijayan said that the government would look into all such aspects. He also said that at present, there was no need for an all-party meeting as demanded by the opposition parties.
Muslim outfits in Kerala on Wednesday demanded that the bishop withdraw the remark. A meeting of representatives of Muslim outfits maintained that the government should have convened an all-party meeting to discuss the situation and sort out it. Religious leaders should keep off from making statements that hurt religious sentiments, the meeting observed.