Fundamentalism more dangerous when practised by majority than minority: Kerala minister M V Govindan

The minister said last week’s murders – of a PFI local leader and an RSS pracharak – were aimed at creating communal trouble. “There is a communal agenda behind these incidents. Both forces want to mobilise strength by indulging in such violence and the police cannot prevent it,” he said.

Responding to Govindan’s observations on fundamentalism, BJP state president K Surendran said the CPM’s stand on minority fundamentalism would turn Kerala into Kashmir. “The minister’s comments indicate open support for the PFI. When the PFI has become a threat to peaceful life in the country, the CPM’s tacit support for minority fundamentalism is a matter of concern. The CPM has an alliance with communal forces. It is whitewashing the PFI, which is an Indian agency of international religious terrorism. The CPM is backing extremist forces,” he said.

Opposition leader V D Satheesan said Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan was appeasing all communal forces in the guise of social engineering. The CPM had engaged in dealings with both the RSS and the PFI during the last Assembly elections, hence the government cannot take stringent action against communal forces, he said.

Since the 2021 Assembly elections, the ruling CPM has faced the allegation that the party has been soft towards minority fundamentalism as well as majority fundamentalism.

Last week, while reacting to the interfaith wedding of a young party member in Kozhikode district, former CPM legislator George M Thomas had stated that the wedding had shattered communal harmony in the region and the party would take action against the local leader who had married a Christian woman. The party later clarified that it encouraged such interfaith, secular marriages.