At a time when the Bharatiya Janata Party in Kerala is going all guns blazing against the Supreme Court verdict allowing the entry of women of all ages into the Sabarimala temple and against the subsequent prohibitory orders, an old video of former party state president V Muraleedharan’s speech has surfaced on social media. In the video, which dates back to 2015, Muraleedharan, can be seen criticising the Muslim League for expressing their dissatisfaction over Supreme Court order regarding the dress code for CBSE examinations.
In the video, Muraleedharan, also a Rajya Sabha MP, says, “The Muslim League leaders in Kerala have said that the SC verdict is not applicable to them, which means that the laws applicable to everyone in this land are not applicable to them and that they will only follow the laws stated by their religion. This is a challenge against the constitution.”
Over the past one month, the BJP’s stand regarding the Sabarimala verdict of the SC has been evident in the various protests across the state. Several BJP leaders of the state had severely criticised the State Government, led by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, for the urgency that they showed in implementing the SC verdict.
The common argument raised against the Pinarayi Vijayan government was that they never considered the feelings of the devotees and that they are hurting the religious beliefs of the Hindus by implementing the Supreme Court’s verdict.
In this video from 2015, the former BJP state president can be heard saying, “Instead of understanding the intention behind the verdict, when a political party comes out publicly against the public law or against the SC order, it only shows that they are challenging the constitution. That is sedition.”
Muraleedharan adds, “The Government should take strict action against those who say that the Constitution is not applicable to them. Otherwise, let them say that they do not want Indian citizenship.”
Ever since the video resurfaced, it has been shared widely on social media, with users calling out the hypocrisy of BJP leaders.
Kerala Finance Minister Thomas Isaac was quick to respond to this video. “What V Muraleedharan said in the speech indirectly, Amit Shah had said it directly later on,” he said in his Facebook post on Thursday.
Thomas Isaac was referring to the speech made by BJP National President Amit Shah in Kannur in October. In his speech, Amit Shah had said that the SC should come out only with verdicts that can be implemented. To this, Issac said, “This means that the SC should come out with verdicts that only the Sangh Parivar can implement.”
“As far as the common man is concerned, the Constitution and the Supreme Court verdicts, which are applicable to the Muslim League, is also applicable to the BJP, as well as to all other political parties,” added Thomas Isaac.
Watch the video here: