Pinarayi Vijayan said such propaganda has no factual basis (File)
Thiruvananthapuram:
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan reiterated his opposition to “drug and love jihad” remarks by a Catholic bishop in the state and said it was wrong to attribute drug-related crimes to a particular religion.
As the controversy over Bishop Joseph Kallarangat’s remarks refused to subside, the chief minister said the Kerala society did not agree with the bishop’s statement and expressed hope that he would “respond” taking into account the public’s stand on the issue. .
Mr Vijayan, while addressing a press conference, also rejected the opposition’s demand to call an all-party meeting to resolve the issue, saying the remarks were not made by persons belonging to any political party.
Pinarayi Vijayan said, “The issue is a wrong comment (made by the bishop). All the parties have made their stand clear on the issue.” commented.
Responding to several questions on the issue, the Chief Minister reiterated that the bishop’s remarks were unfortunate and resulted in an unnecessary controversy in the society.
Condemning those who tried to foment the controversy “in a very unfortunate manner”, he said the government would intervene to strengthen the secular fabric of the society.
Bishop Kallarangat recently said that Christian girls in Kerala are falling prey to alleged love and drug jihad and where weapons cannot be used, extremists are using such methods to destroy youth. Huh.
Pinarayi Vijayan said there was no factual basis for such propaganda.
He said an analysis of the data on religious conversion and drug trafficking cases showed that minority religions of the state had no significant involvement in these.
“None of them have any religious affiliation nor can it be included in the category of religion,” the chief minister said.
Mr Vijayan also termed the concerns of Christians converting to Islam in Kerala as “baseless”.
He said that 4,941 cases were registered in the state in 2020 under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS Act) and out of 5,422 accused, 2,700 (49.8%) were Hindu, 1,869 (34.47%) were Muslim and 853 (15.73%) were accused. were Christians.
“There is nothing unnatural in this proportion,” Pinarayi Vijayan said and added that drug trafficking is not based on religion.
Citing statistics, the chief minister also dismissed the allegation that Christians and women from other communities are being made to fall in love and taken to terror organizations like ISIS by converting to Islam.
Referring to incidents of people joining ISIS from Kerala till 2019, he said that 100 Malayalees, 72 went abroad for professional purposes and from there they got attracted towards ISIS ideologies and joined the organisation.
“All were born in Muslim community except Praju, son of Damodaran of Thuruthiyad in Kozhikode. The other 28 were found to be attracted by ISIS ideology leaving Kerala,” he said.
Among those 28, a Hindu woman from Thiruvananthapuram married a Christian man from Palakkad and a Christian woman from Ernakulam married a Christian youth.
The chief minister claimed that after marriage he converted to Islam and joined ISIS.
“None of these figures confirm the propaganda that girls are taken to terrorist organizations with the lure of love,” he said.
Responding to Leader of Opposition (LoP) VD Satheesan’s allegation that the Left government had not taken steps to address the controversy over “alcoholic jihad”, Pinarayi Vijayan said the government was trying to catch fish in troubled waters. Strict action will be taken against those.
Referring to the LoP’s demand for action against those creating communal divide through social media, the Chief Minister said the government would take strict action against those spreading communal hatred through such platforms.
“Love and drugs should not be included in the account of any religion”, Mr Vijayan said and warned those trying to create controversy and disturb the unity and peace of the society.
Earlier, speaking to reporters, Mr. Satisan accused the Left government of showing impudence in the controversy over the bishop’s “alcoholic jihad” remarks.
He also alleged that the government was not paying heed to the repeated demands of the opposition to convene an all-party meeting.
Addressing a virtual event organized by the CPI(M) on Tuesday, Pinarayi Vijayan had completely rejected the bishop’s remarks of “drug and love jihad”, saying the state is a strong locus of secularism and the society is a part of those people. Will take a tough stand against those who try to harass it.
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