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Don’t require all-party meet, says Kerala CM Vijayan in ‘narcotic jihad’ row
Even the Union government and several courts made it clear that love jihad and narcotic jihad practices never existed, Kerala CM Vijayan said.
Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday denied plans to call an all-party meeting to discuss the ongoing ‘love jihad’ and ‘narcotic jihad’ row, set off by Pala Bishop Joseph Kallarangatt’s controversial statements.
Talking to newsmen in the state capital, Vijayan said the religious leader’s statement was “unfortunate and uncalled for” and both (love jihad and narcotic jihad) were not based on any statistics or fact. The Bishop’s statement triggered a war of words between religious communities and opposition parties urged the government to call an all-party meeting.
“How can we call an all-party meeting on such non-issues? Both are non-existent. We don’t want to call a meeting on non-existent issues. Some people are trying to exploit the situation by whipping them up, and we have to isolate them first,” the chief minister said, reeling out statistics.
He stated the government has information about 100 people who joined the Islamic State (IS) till 2019 of Kerala origin?, out of these, 72 slipped out from countries (mainly middle-east) where they were working.
“Out of 72, 71 are Muslims. And some of the people who went to IS-held areas from north Kerala were converted much earlier. There are no complaints that some women were converted and forcibly taken to war-torn areas,” he said.
Even the Union government and several courts made it clear that love jihad and narcotic jihad practices never existed, Vijayan said. He said after 21 people left from north Kerala in 2016, the special branch of police started several re-radicalisation camps to bring youngsters, who were attracted to some extremist forces, to the mainstream.
He reiterated that social evil like narcotics has no religion and it is highly improper to put into the account of a particular religion. He said, in 2020, around 4,941 cases were registered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, and 5,422 people were arrested in connection with them.
“Out of these, Hindus were 2,700 (49.80 %), Muslims 1,869 (34.47%) and 853 (15. 73%) belong to Christianity. It shows offenders belonged to all religions. Such crimes are not religion-based. There are no unusual numbers from any particular community either,” the CM said, adding that some forces were trying to fish in troubled waters, and their attempts will remain a daydream.
He said strict action will be taken against those who vitiate the communal fabric of the state. When asked whether any action will be taken against the Bishop he said he had already made it clear no case will be registered against him. He criticised the opposition Congress and BJP for exploiting the issue for some political gains. (CAN WE PUT THIS IN A QUOTE?)
Opposition leaders are yet to react to the CM’s statement.
Addressing a church ceremony in Kottayam on Sept 9, the Bishop said that Catholic girls and youth were targeted by it.
“Wherever arms are not used, narcotic drugs are being used, and Catholic girls turn victims. Some groups are functioning in the state to support them. To understand this, one needs to analyse how women from other religions landed in the Islamic State camps,” he said, referring to the trip of 21 people, including five converts to Islam, from north Kerala to Afghanistan in 2016.
Meanwhile, Vijayan welcomed the decision to pay compensation to Covid-19 victims but said it is quite unfair states will have to take the whole responsibility. “We all know the poor economic condition of states after pandemic set in. We hope the Centre will adequately compensate states,” he said, adding virus cases were dipping slowly.
On Wednesday, the state reported 19,675 cases Wednesday with a test positivity rate of 16.45 after 119,594 tests. It also logged 142 deaths, and the toll crossed 24,000 (24,039).
