Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on November 27, Saturday said that the recent Halal controversy in Kerala was part of an agenda set by communalist elements. While speaking at Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI-M) area committee meeting at Pinarayi in Kannur, CM said that its a Sangh Parivar agenda to demoralise a particular community by spreading fake allegations and creating division in the society.
The CM said that this Sangh Parivar campaign is happening across the country and now it's happening in Kerala too. “Halal means edible and no harm, nothing else is meant by the term,” CM said.
In the last few weeks, Sangh Parivar groups and radical Christian groups have unleashed a hate campaign against Halal boards outside restaurants and halal certification in packed foods. The hate campaign alleged that Muslim leaders spit on food to make it halal. Even though it was clarified that halal means food that is alcohol free or free of pig meat and fat free, the campaign continued asking to boycott halal food. Hindutva and Christian groups even published lists of restaurants owned by non-Muslims claiming that they provide spit free food.
Reacting to this, the CM said that the Sangh Parivar propagated Hindutva politics across the country, deviated from democracy, attacked minorities and those who are democratic by nature. Pinarayi Vijayan alleged that BJP and Congress also hold the same ideology.
Heavily coming down on Hindutva ideology, the Kerala CM pointed out how the central government is alienating Muslim community by amending the Citizenship Act and causing problems in the Lakshadweep islands. Lakshadweep islands has witnessed continuous protests after the Administrator, a former BJP leader named Praful K Patel introduced an order banning cow slaughter law and opened up the islands for 'development', going against the call for conserving the pristine islands.
Pinarayi Vijayan said that in the name of cow slaughtering the government was causing tension in the country. He also accused the union government of intruding into the state's powers and thus destroying the country’s federalism.