Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan called Nitesh Rane’s description of Kerala as a “mini Pakistan” provocative and condemnable. He accused the Maharashtra fisheries minister of echoing Sangh Parivar’s hate campaigns to alienate Kerala and called for his resignation.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday condemned Maharashtra Fisheries Minister Nitesh Rane’s statement branding Kerala as a “mini Pakistan.”
He described the statement as “provocative and condemnable.” He further accused Rane of echoing the divisive agenda of the Sangh Parivar, as such rhetoric aimed at alienating Kerala for resisting their influence.
This statement has been violative of the Constitution,” Vijayan said, and he sought Rane’s resignation. It is surprising that the leadership of the ruling party has not reacted to this serious breach of oath,” he added.
The Chief Minister took to social media, too, to condemn the statement as “deeply malicious and utterly condemnable.” He called for secular and democratic forces to come together in united opposition to hate campaigns.
Maharashtra Minister Nitesh Rane created a controversy on Monday by terming Kerala a “mini Pakistan” and claiming that Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were elected as MPs from the state because “terrorists voted for them.”
Rane claimed, “They have become MPs after taking terrorists with them. This is the truth.”Facing sharp criticism, Rane later clarified his remarks, stating he was comparing the situation in Kerala and Pakistan.
The way Hindus are treated in Pakistan. If such situations happen in our country, we must act against them. That is what I was trying to say in my speech,” he explained.
He also charged religious conversion and “love jihad” in Kerala. Meanwhile, the Congress leader, KC Venugopal, claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was silent on it and that these remarks were an orchestrated hate campaign.
