'Look at the names’: Kerala Minister's remarks on Malappuram, Kasaragod results trigger controversy
Alappuzha (Kerala): Kerala Minister Saji Cherian has sparked a political controversy with remarks suggesting that electoral outcomes in Malappuram and Kasaragod reflect growing communal polarisation in the state. His comments, made while criticising the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) and Leader of the Opposition V D Satheesan, have drawn sharp reactions from the Opposition.
Cherian accused the UDF of fuelling communal tensions for political gain and alleged that the party was willing to align with both minority and majority communal forces. He reiterated that the CPI(M) and the Left Democratic Front (LDF) had consistently opposed communalism and claimed that Kerala had not witnessed communal riots in the past decade under the LDF government. In contrast, he referred to incidents such as the Marad riots of 2002–03 and clashes in Alappuzha and Vizhinjam, which occurred during earlier UDF regimes.
Addressing questions on communal polarisation, the minister said indications were already visible in northern Kerala’s electoral patterns. “Look at the names of those who won in Malappuram and Kasaragod,” he remarked, cautioning against underestimating the trend.
Cherian also accused Satheesan of attempting to disturb communal harmony through statements made during the Kerala Yathra led by Kanthapuram A P Aboobacker Musliyar. He alleged that these remarks were aimed at creating religious and caste-based divisions to consolidate minority votes, adding that the Opposition leader was aware of the dangers posed by both minority and majority communalism.
Responding to Satheesan’s criticism over Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan allowing SNDP Yogam general secretary Vellapally Natesan to travel in his official vehicle, Cherian dismissed the allegation, stating that there was nothing improper in the gesture. He said community organisations such as the NSS and SNDP function autonomously and that cooperation with them did not amount to political “social engineering”.
Emphasising Kerala’s tradition of coexistence, Cherian said Hindus, Muslims and Christians in the state lived together harmoniously and warned against divisive politics that could push Kerala towards the kind of polarised electoral environment seen in states such as Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. He maintained that the state government remained committed to protecting all faiths and ensuring the freedom to practise religious traditions peacefully.
Later, amid criticism, Cherian issued a clarification, stating that his remarks had been distorted and misinterpreted. He said he did not intend to single out any community but meant that Kerala should not move towards a situation where Muslim-majority areas are politically dominated by the Indian Union Muslim League and Hindu-majority regions by the BJP. He made the clarification while speaking to the media on Monday morning.
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Screenwriter Salim Khan on ventilator support and stable, say doctors
Mumbai (PTI): Veteran screenwriter Salim Khan suffered a brain haemorrhage which has been tackled, is on ventilator support as a safeguard and stable, doctors treating him said on Wednesday, a day after he was admitted to the Lilavati Hospital here.
The 90-year-old, one half of the celebrated Salim-Javed duo which scripted films such as "Sholay", "Deewar" and "Don" with Javed Akhtar, is in the ICU and recovery might take some time given his age.
"His blood pressure was high for which we treated him and we had to put him on a ventilator because we wanted to do certain investigations. Now the ventilator was put as a safeguard so that his situation doesn't get worse. So it is not that he is critical," Dr Jalil Parkar told reporters.
"We did the investigations that were required and today we have done a small procedure on him, I will not go into the details. The procedure done is called DSA (digital subtraction angiography). The procedure has been accomplished, he is fine and stable and shifted back to ICU. By tomorrow, we hope to get him off the ventilator. All in all, he is doing quite well," he added.
Asked whether he suffered a brain haemorrhage, the doctor said, "Unko thoda haemorrhage hua tha, which we’ve tackled. No surgery is required.
As concern over Khan's health mounted, his children, including superstar Salman Khan and Arbaaz Khan, daughter Alvira, and sons-in-law Atul Agnihotri and Aayush Sharma, have been seen outside the hospital along with other well-wishers. His long-time partner Akhtar was also seen coming out of the hospital.
Khan, a household name in the 70s and 80s, turned 90 on November 24 last year. It was the day Dharmendra, the star of many of his films, including "Sholay", "Seeta aur Geeta" and "Yaadon Ki Baraat", passed away.
Hailing from an affluent family in Indore, Khan arrived in Mumbai in his 20s with dreams of stardom. He was good looking and confident he would make a mark in the industry as an actor. But that did not happen. And then, after struggling for close to a decade and getting confined to small roles in films, he changed lanes.
He worked as an assistant to Abrar Alvi and soon met Akhtar to form one of Hindi cinema's most formidable writing partnerships. They worked together on two dozen movies with most of them achieving blockbuster status.
Other than "Sholay", "Deewar" and "Don", Khan and Akhtar also penned "Trishul", "Zanjeer", "Seeta Aur Geeta", "Haathi Mere Saathi", "Yaadon Ki Baarat" and "Mr India".
