Police will examine Hamas leader's speech at Kerala event, says CM Vijayan
Kochi (PTI): Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday said the alleged virtual address by a Hamas leader at an Islamist group's event in the state recently would be examined by police, and if something wrong has happened, appropriate action would be taken.
The CM alleged that the BJP was aiming at implicating people in false cases for merely expressing support for Palestine, and asserted that it would not be permitted in Kerala.
He pointed out that the state and the country have always supported Palestine, and it is only now that the stance has changed at the Centre.
Vijayan was responding to a query inviting his attention to remarks by BJP chief J P Nadda and Union Minister of State for Electronics Rajeev Chandrasekhar that neither the Left government nor the police intervened to prevent the Hamas leader's address.
The CM said the address appears to have been a recorded one, and what was said in it has to be examined.
"The person referred to as a Palestinian warrior spoke at an event organised by the Solidarity Youth Movement, the youth wing of Jamaat-e-Islami. We need to see what he said.
"It appears that the speech was a recorded one. We need to understand that issue properly," he said, speaking to reporters at Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL) here.
He further said that when Jamaat-e-Islami or any other organisation approaches the police for permission to hold an event, it is not denied. "That is what happened in the instant case," he said, adding, "If something is wrong in that, the police will examine it, and action will be taken."
At the same time, he alleged that Chandrasekhar and his friends "are trying to find ways to lodge cases against those who are showing support for Palestine".
"They are trying to implicate them (Palestine supporters) in cases. That will not happen in Kerala," the CM said.
Referring to Hamas leader Khaled Mashal's virtual participation in a protest programme organised by an Islamist group in the state recently against Israel's war with the militant outfit, Nadda alleged that he spoke openly about his organisation and that the Left government was a "silent spectator".
"What does it mean? You are bringing a bad name to the land of 'God's Own Country' Kerala", Nadda said, while addressing workers of the BJP-led NDA who laid siege to three of the four gates of the Kerala Secretariat in Thiruvananthapuram in protest against the alleged misrule of the Left government in the state.
Chandrasekhar, at a press conference here, said the Hamas chief was given an opportunity, with no intervention by the Kerala government or police, to address a large gathering of youth and incite them with radicalism."
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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).
