Thanks but no thanks: Pinarayi Vijay to Bhagwat on nationalism advise
Later in a Facebook post, Vijayan said, "In the freedom struggle, Keralites and the state have made memorable contributions. The RSS leader need not impart lessons on patriotism to Keralites."
The people of Kerala do not need advise on nationalism from RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, Pinarayi Vijayan said. Vijayan, the Chief Minister of Kerala said while inaugurating the 2017-19 Delhi Union of the Kerala Union of Working Journalists (KUWJ), that the RSS considered religious minorities as an "internal threat" to the country.
He
also
said
that
the
RSS
chief's
allegation
that
the
state
government
was
supporting
anti-national
elements
was
a
challenge
to
each
Keralite
and
to
Kerala
society
as
a
whole.
Bhagwat,
at
a
Vijayadashmi
celebration
in
Nagpur
in
Maharashtra
yesterday,
had
said
that
in
the
Left-ruled
Kerala
and
the
Mamata
Banerjee-ruled
West
Bengal,
"jihadi
and
anti-
national"
forces
were
at
work
and
the
governments
there
were
not
only
indifferent
but
at
times
lending
a
helping
hand
to
them
to
"appease"
a
section
of
the
voters
for
"petty
political
interests".
Rejecting the RSS chief's remarks, the Kerala chief minister has said, "It is a known fact that communal forces play a major role in disturbing the political atmosphere of Kerala. But certain media houses hide this fact and blame the progressive movements and organisations of the state."
"The RSS chief has said that the state government was supporting anti-national elements that are perpetrating the violence. But we treat communal forces as communal forces, terrorists as terrorists and criminal acts as criminal acts.
"The
gentleman
and
his
organisation
consider
religious
minorities
as
an
internal
threat
to
the
country.
This
is
the
code
of
principle
of
RSS,"
the
chief
minister
said,
adding
that
his
government
and
the
Kerala
society
were
in
favour
of
protecting
the
minorities.
Vijayan,
who
was
in
Delhi
to
attend
the
CPI(M)
Politburo
meeting,
also
took
a
dig
at
certain
media
houses.
"They say that Kerala is inhospitable and is a killing field. They also say that Kerala lacks press freedom and we kill political opponents. Those who have no idea about Kerala might believe this.
"Senior media persons from Delhi came to Kerala to cross-check these facts and they even tweeted that Kerala is completely different from what is being propagated in the national capital," Vijayan said.
The Kerala chief minister also said that his government was providing and would continue to provide security to minorities in the state.
While referring to the death of Haryana-resident Junaid Khan on a train recently, Vijayan said that communal forces have created such a situation in the country that just because they are Muslims, they can be attacked.
"Where
are
we
heading?
We
don't
agree
with
this.
We
don't
support
such
acts,"
he
said.
He
also
said
that
certain
corporate-led
media
houses
were
trying
to
malign
the
image
of
Kerala.
"A recently-formed media house has been spreading derogatory statements against the state. This is against media ethics," Vijayan added.
He
also
referred
to
the
latest
report
on
World
Press
Freedom
Index
in
which
India
was
ranked
at
136
among
180
countries
in
the
world
press
freedom
rankings.
"The
present
media
scenario
of
the
country
is
worrisome.
The report also says that extreme right-wing has imposed censorship on media. This is alarming," he said.
He also spoke about the killings of senior journalists Gauri Lankesh in Bengaluru and Shantanu Bhowmick in Agartala.
"It's the intolerance that we can see here," he said and asked the journalists from Kerala who are working here to act as "unofficial ambassadors of the state".
Later in a Facebook post, Vijayan said, "In the freedom struggle, Keralites and the state have made memorable contributions. The RSS leader need not impart lessons on patriotism to Keralites."
Vijayan alleged that in BJP-ruled states, murders in the name of cow protection and communal polarisation were being justified and efforts were being made to malign Kerala.
That will be a journey in the wrong direction, he said.
"However big the communal force is, if attempts are made to disrupt the lives of people, the LDF government will not compromise and will not show any leniency towards those who come in between the Constitution and its values," he added.
OneIndia News