Kerala CM Oommen Chandy terms article in RSS mouthpiece as 'venomous'

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy has taken exception to an article in RSS mouthpiece 'Organiser', saying it has "insulted" the people of Kerala and sought an unconditional apology from the magazine.

In a letter to the Editorial Board of Organiser, Chandy termed as "venomous" the article- 'Gods's Own Country or Godless Country- by M Surendra Nath, which appeared in its Diwali special edition, and wanted the magazine to withdraw it. Criticising the article, Chandy said its contents "insulted the people of Kerala and Malayalees elsewhere."

"As a Malayalee who is rightly proud of the land of my nativity, and as Chief Minister of Kerala, I must defend the honour of my state and my fellow Malayalees. Let me invite your kind attention to the way your magazine has so callously insulted the people of Kerala and Malayalees elsewhere," Chandy said.

"This venomous article appeared in your Deepawali special issue.It is dark irony that the Festival of Lights special should carry such a dismal piece of writing,specially designed to malign Malayalees in and outside Kerala," he said.

"The fangs spewing the venom of communalism in different parts of India are now at the doorsteps of Kerala too," he said.

"As you may well be aware, recently the country witnessed heinous acts, prompting the President of India to issue stern warnings, four times, evidently, to the divisive forces," he said.

"Let me please enlighten the Editorial Team of Organiser that, for more than a century, Kerala has been keeping close to its heart the teachings of its noble son and great social reformer Sree Narayana Guru, who exhorted the people to shun the way of divisiveness based on caste and creed."

"Tolerance is an integral part of the Malayalee psyche. This is what prompted Cheraman Perumal, the 7th Century Hindu ruler based at Kodungallur, to give away his land for building a mosque, the first in India," he pointed out.

"Surendra Nath has tried to malign the impressive strides of progress that Kerala has achieved by making wild accusations about some social issues, which are not only seen in Kerala, but also in other parts of India and outside."