Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala government on Monday said it was ready to adopt the Muslim boy from Uttar Pradesh who was seen being slapped by his classmates on the instruction of a teacher.
The incident came to light through a video circulating on social media.
Kerala Education Minister V Sivankutty said the state government will provide the best education to the child if his parents agree. "If his parents are willing, then the education department in Kerala is ready to adopt the child and provide him with the best education," Sivankutty said.
"The state government and the people of Kerala will strive to protect secular values," he said.
The video shows a school teacher asking her students to slap a boy for apparently not completing his homework, whom she is heard referring to as "Mohammaden" and also passing objectionable remarks against the community.
CM condemns incident
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday condemned the incident and sought to link it with alleged communal incidents in the BJP-ruled state.
The Chief Minister, in a Facebook post, alleged that "Hindutva communalism" was turning the country into a hotbed of hatred.
Pinarayi said the incident in Muzaffarnagar is a reminder of how communalism and fascism can drain every last drop of empathy and love from a human being.
Vijayan laid the blame for it on the Sangh Parivar, saying that it was trying to dehumanise minorities and Dalits and reduce them to a social status worse than animals.
"However, it is not an isolated incident in Muzaffarnagar which has been deeply injured by the Sangh Parivar through riots," Vijayan alleged.
(With PTI inputs)
