Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy has accused RSS mouthpiece Organiser of having insulted the people of Kerala with an article in its Deepavali special issue titled ‘Kerala: God’s Own Country or Godless Country?’

“On behalf of Kerala and Malayalees all over the world, I would like to point out to you, Editorial Board of Organizer, that you are piteously ignorant of the history, culture and traditions of my home State. 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… The editorial leadership of the magazine and the RSS ought to tender unconditional apology to the people of Kerala and Malayalees elsewhere. And they must declare that they do withdraw the article without any further delay,” the Chief Minister said in an a article released for publication here a short while ago.

Mr. Chandy said the article, authored by one M. Surendranath, was a clear sign that the ‘fangs, spewing the venom of communalism’ in different parts of India are now at the doorsteps of Kerala too. “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. It is no wonder that the Prime Minister of India these days is confronted by protests and harsh media scrutiny during his visits abroad. It is high time for him to be aware of the embers of anarchy that could set fire in the country,” Mr. Chandy said.

“Let me please enlighten the Editorial Team of Organizer 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… Time and again the people of Kerala have expressed through the ballot, that communal and divisive forces have no place in the State. This again is an outcome of the independent and free thinking ways of Keralites, who have been brought up on strong foundations of rich traditions, value education, and healthy socio-cultural practices. And they love to tread the path illuminated by stalwarts who led Kerala at various stages of its history. And we will not deviate from this right path,” the Kerala Chief Minister said.