PM has "maligned" anti CAA protests in Kerala: Vijayan

A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a reference to the Kerala Chief Minister's statement on extremists infiltrating anti-CAA protests here, Pinarayi Vijayan on Friday hit back, saying he had "maligned" the anti-CAA protests in Kerala.

Urging the Prime Minister to "rectify" his statement that "maligns" the protests in Kerala, Vijayan said it was unbefitting for a Prime Minister to be a part of those who are disappointed with the fact that Kerala is leading the struggle against the communalism of both RSS and SDPI.

In a Facebook Post, Vijayan said his remarks on extremist organisations like the Social Democratic Party of India were made in "good faith".

In a blistering attack on opposition parties on their attempt to "misguide and misinform" the nation on the new citizenship law, Modi had said Vijayan was on the one hand warning of extremist elements infiltrating anti-CAA protests and on the other his party was supporting them in Delhi.

Modi had made the statement during his debate on the motion to thank the President for his address to the joint sitting of both houses of Parliament on Monday.

"The statement of the PM in the Rajya Sabha with regard to Kerala was factually incorrect and condemnable," Vijayan wrote in his Facebook post.

The CPI(M) veteran said that Kerala, which was in the forefront of the struggles against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), was not willing to concede ground to those who want to make this an opportunity for communal polarisation.

Describing CAA as an amendment that "flagrantly tramples constitutional values", Vijayan said the unity seen in these struggles is "a hallmark of the secularism of Kerala".

He said that it was understandable that some people might want to malign and misconstrue this movement.

Kerala, he said, would respond in unison to them. The state's secular ethos is one that was opposed to all forms of communalism.

This spirit has inspired the protests in Kerala against CAA, which seeks to confer citizenship on the basis of religion, Vijayan said in the post.

"This state is not an arable land for any kind of communalism. The protests that are happening against the unconstitutional and discriminatory CAA have seen the coming together of people from all walks of life, including religious leaders, artists, writers, social workers, community leaders and politicians," the Chief Minister said.

He said people have transcended religious and caste lines to form a common front. And such a society does not need an external tutelage to separate the genuine protest from "opportunists trying to sow communal polarisation," he said.

"People were warned of such infiltrators; proper caution was also exercised.

The discriminatory CAA, which is a plan forged in the kiln of RSS for achieving communal goals, must be resisted with the bulwark of secularism. In this, Kerala is a model for the whole country.

Our secular state has the strength to fend off any sort of infiltrators in this movement as well."

The Chief Minister said his remarks on extremist organizations like SDPI were made in "good faith."

Kerala is guided by the belief that secularism is the only means for defeating the "communal agenda" of RSS and the state would resist anyone attempts to pollute this struggle with the poison of communalism", the chief minister said.

Vijayan had on February 3 cautioned against infiltration of members of "extremist" outfits like SDPI in anti-CAA protests in Kerala and said the Left government would not allow any attempt to create communal disharmony in society.

His mention of the Islamic outfit in the House had then triggered a war of words with the Congress-led opposition United Democratic Front.