Thiruvananthapuram, July 20 (IANS) SNDP Yogam General Secretary Vellappally Natesan has stirred fresh controversy with a communally charged speech, prompting a sharp rebuttal from the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), which labelled him “Kerala’s Togadia” – a reference to Praveen Togadia, known for his inflammatory and anti-Muslim rhetoric.

Speaking at a branch leadership convention of the SNDP in Kottayam on Saturday, Vellappally claimed that Kerala was on the path to becoming a Muslim-majority state.

He accused both the ruling LDF and opposition UDF of pandering to the Muslim community and alleged that the state government needed the approval of Malappuram district for decisions as trivial as changes to school timings or the introduction of Zumba classes.

He further twisted a decade-old remark by senior CPM leader V.S. Achuthanandan to support his claim. While Achuthanandan had, in 2012, warned that the now-banned Popular Front of India (PFI) aimed to Islamise Kerala through radical means, Vellappally quoted him out of context to suggest that even a former chief minister had predicted a Muslim-majority Kerala within decades.

BJP national executive member Amit Malviya also shared a cropped version of Achuthanandan’s comment on social media.

This is not the first time Vellappally has drawn flak for his remarks about Malappuram.

Two months ago, he described the district as functioning like a separate nation, dominated by a particular community, making it difficult for others to express their opinions freely.

While IUML had downplayed his earlier comments, the party has taken strong exception this time.

An editorial published in Chandrika, the party’s mouthpiece, tore into Vellappally’s rhetoric, stating, “He spreads communal poison even more freely than Praveen Togadia. It seems there is a contest between him and the man from Poonjar (a reference to P.C. George) on who can be the worst communal voice in Kerala. The state police and government appear indifferent.”

The editorial also criticised Vellappally’s statement that while two wards were reduced in Alappuzha during delimitation, four were added in Malappuram.

He accused the IUML of now eyeing the Chief Minister’s post, having earlier demanded the Deputy Chief Minister’s position. The IUML hit back strongly.

“Wasn’t C.H. Mohammed Koya a Muslim Chief Minister? Who says a Muslim can’t hold that post? These remarks clearly reflect majoritarian communal thinking,” the editorial concluded.

–IANS

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