Attempts in country to portray particular community as extremists, claims Kerala minister Riyas
Kozhikode, Jan 8: There are alleged attempts in our country to portray a particular community as extremists and there is a need to look into it, Kerala minister P A Mohammed Riyas said on Sunday.
His remarks came in the wake of a controversy erupting in Kerala after a cultural programme organised during the inaugural function of the 61st state school youth festival, which was held here from January 3-7, had allegedly depicted a particular community as extremists.
Riyas said the alleged association, if any, of the person in charge of that particular programme with the Sangh Parivar needs to be investigated.
"There are attempts in our country to portray a particular community as extremists. In this particular issue, the alleged Sangh Parivar association of the persons concerned should be investigated," Riyas told reporters.
He said such an incident is suspected to be an "attempt to create unrest" during the youth festival.
"The incident is suspected to be an attempt to create unrest during the youth festival. It should be investigated whether that was an attempt to divide people and diminish the popularity of the event which witnessed a huge turnout," he added.
The musical programme was performed after the inauguration of the State School Youth festival on Tuesday.
It depicted the Indian army apprehending a man sporting a Keffiyeh, a traditional Arab headgear worn by men.
Sources said when the dance was performed before the screening committee, it was done without the costume.
The Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) had condemned the depiction of a particular community in a bad light in a musical programme and said it should not have happened.
IUML leader P K Kunhalikutty had said the mistake on the part of the government cannot be accepted.
"They could have used some masks to depict terrorists. But instead they used a Muslim attire which was an unacceptable mistake on behalf of the government," Kunhalikutty had said.
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Rickelton's ton in vain as SRH beat MI by 6 wickets
Mumbai (PTI): Ryan Rickelton's whirlwind unbeaten ton was overshadowed by Heinrich Klaasen's unbeaten 65 as Sunrisers Hyderabad defeated Mumbai Indians by six wickets in an IPL match here on Wednesday.
Chasing an imposing 244-run target, Travis Head (76 off 30) and Abhishek Sharma (45 off 24) shared 129 runs for the opening wicket to set the platform for SRH.
Klaasen (65 not out off 30 balls) then displayed his all-round hitting abilities to guide SRH home with the help of Nitish Kumar Reddy (21) and Salil Arora (30 not out off 10) in 18.4 overs.
Earlier, Rickelton's knock powered MI to 243 for five.
MI rode on a 93-run stand between Rickelton (123 not out off 55 balls) and Will Jacks (46 off 22) in 7.1 overs for the opening stand to power the side.
MI skipper Hardik Pandya scored a valuable 31 off 15 balls before being dismissed.
Praful Hinge (2/54), Eshan Malinga (1/29), Sakib Hasan (1/39) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (1/31) were the wicket-takers for SRH.
Brief Scores:
Mumbai Indian: 243 for 5 in 20 overs (Ryan Rickelton 123 not out; Praful Hinge 2/54).
Sunrisers Hyderabad: 249 for 4 in 18.4 overs (Travis Head 76, Heinrich Klaasen 65 not out; AM Ghazanfar 2/51).
