Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday said that attempts by "some forces to create communal polarisation" would not succeed as most of the people in Kerala belonging to the majority and minority communities are secular.
Reacting to the remarks of Pala Bishop Mar Joseph Kallarangatt on "Love Jihad and Narcotic Jihad" that snowballed into a big controversy in Kerala, the Chief Minister reiterated that "no one has ever heard the term Narcotic Jihad".
"Everyone knows about Narcotics and Narcotic Mafia. At the global level, such mafias are active. They are even more powerful than certain governments. But no one should try to label such mafia with a religious symbol," said Vijayan addressing media here.
Answering a query, the Chief Minister ruled out the government taking any case against Bishop and said that on behalf of Pala Bishop it was clarified that his remark was not intended to flare up any communal divide.
"The speciality of our society should be maintained. Our society's speciality is that anything can be discussed and an amicable solution found. There may be some forces working to disrupt the peace in the state. But overall society and people of the state are secular. Everyone should take steps to uphold communal harmony," he said.
Regarding the all-party meeting suggested by Congress, Vijayan said it is a good suggestion that can be considered.
"But regarding the hate campaigns being run on social media to instigate communal tensions, I don't think any discussion is necessary. Police will take strict actions against such people who are perpetuating such hate campaigns. Everyone should understand that there are some communal forces who want to lean on to any chance to create divisions in society. They should be failed by taking collective measures and staying united," he added.
( With inputs from ANI )
Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor