Called them anti-socials, CM Pinarayi Vijayan clarifies meeting with Jamaat-e-Islami 

KOZHIKODE: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan confirmed the news of his meeting with the Jamaat-e-Islami. He said that he met them as they demanded to meet him and that the meeting was held at the AKG Center. He said some youths from Solidarity had also come to meet him. However, he said that he called them communalists looking at their faces that day. The chief minister made this clear at the face-to-face program held at the Kozhikode Press Club.

‘That meeting was held knowing that they were communalists. They wanted to meet us here and said that they had something to talk about. Not ready to give a good certificate during the meeting with them. They made their stand clear. When I tried to clarify my stand, I told the people who were with me, including the youths of Solidarity: These are the biggest anti-socials. I said this looking at their faces. 'When asked why I said that: 'Aren't these people opposing all the good things in the state? Aren't those who adopt such an approach anti-social? We are not hesitant to say what we need to say. Not then and not now,' said the chief minister.

Since the last local body elections, the main weapon used by the CPM against the UDF has been its ties with Jamaat-e-Islami and the Welfare Party. The chief minister added that the LDF has never taken a favorable stance towards Jamaat-e-Islami. In 1992, the Congress government had to ban Jamaat-e-Islami. Jamaat-e-Islami voted in protest against this in 1996. When Oommen Chandy was the chief minister and Ramesh Chennithala the home minister, the UDF government filed an affidavit in the high court stating that Jamaat-e-Islami is a communal organization.