'Kerala has never witnessed a communal riot during time of LDF rule, my words were twisted'; minister Saji Cherian explains

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Minister Saji Cherian has issued a clarification regarding his controversial remarks, including his statement that the Muslim League follows politics that promotes communalism. He said his comments were being twisted and that the public was being misled as a result. The minister explained that he meant there should not be a situation where Muslim-majority areas are led by the Muslim League and Hindu-majority areas by the BJP. Saji Cherian made the clarification while speaking to the media on Monday morning.

“The communalism promoted by the RSS must be opposed. The communalism raised by the RSS cannot be countered with minority communalism. For that, the Left in Kerala must be strengthened. There are 39 seats in the Kasargod municipality. Despite upholding secularism, we got only one seat there. The Congress won two seats. The BJP, which spoke communal politics, won 12 seats and the League won 22 seats. I only said to read out their names. I only wish that such a situation should not arise anywhere else in Kerala. In Kerala, the Chief Minister has stood with minorities on all issues. There was never a single communal riot in Kerala during the Left's rule,” the minister said.

Earlier, Saji Cherian had said that to understand the communal polarisation carried out by the UDF, it was enough to look at the names of those who won in Malappuram in the local body elections. He had also said that similar situations are happening in many states across India. "Read out the names of those who won in the Malappuram district panchayat elections. What is the situation in our country? You should not allow anyone to turn Kerala into Uttar Pradesh or Madhya Pradesh," he said.

Meanwhile, Youth Congress leader Anoop V R Chengannur has filed a complaint with the police against Saji Cherian over his remarks. The complaint was sent via email. It alleges that the minister’s statements promote communal hatred and amount to a violation of his oath of office.