Kochi: Kerala’s Leader of the Opposition VD Satheesan has questioned the anti-Muslim rhetoric by SNDP Yogam general secretary Vellappally Natesan, urging community leaders to step back from making divisive statements. The Congress leader said that Vellappally’s comments were against the ideals of social reformer Sree Narayana Guru, who founded the SNDP Yogam.

“The people of Kerala carry Guru in their hearts. The general secretary is spreading a message that is against the Guru’s views. He is saying what Guru did not want anyone to say. The opposition would question all campaigns aimed at creating communal division and hatred,” Satheesan told the media in Kochi on Sunday.

Satheesan was responding to Vellappally’s scathing attack against the minority community at a meeting in Kottayam on Saturday. Vellappally, among other remarks, said that Muslims would soon be the dominant population in Kerala. Two months ago, Vellappally had made a similar comment against the Muslim-majority Malappuram, saying the district functioned like a separate nation. 

Satheesan alleged that Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan prompted Vellappally’s anti-Muslim rhetoric. He said Vellappally’s comments echoed the narrative Pinarayi tried to sell in Delhi through PR agencies. He was referring to the remarks made by the chief minister in an earlier interview with The Hindu, which suggested that Malappuram was a hub of anti-national activities. Incidentally, Chief Minister Vijayan had defended Vellappally on the earlier occasion, saying his comments were aimed at a political party and not any religion. The CM had advised the community leader to exercise more caution and attention in his speeches.

Vellappally on Sunday continued his attack on the minority community at a function held at Palluruthy to honour him for completing 30 years at the helm of SNDP Yogam. He said he was being targeted for telling the truth. He went on to say that he was least bothered about what Muslim scholar Kanthapuram AP Aboobacker Musaliyar said. Vellappally also expressed his concern that after Pinarayi, Keala is unlikely to have a chief minister from the Ezhava community for another 100 years.

Attending the same event, Minister VN Vasavan of CPM was all praise for Vellappally. The ports minister hailed Velappally for bringing order to the SNDP Yogam. Vasavan said Vellappally was a crisis manager, and he was creating history at a time when he was supposed to lead a retirement life.

Congress MLA K Babu also praised Vellappally’s leadership skills. Babu said Vellappally was hounded by the media. BJP state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar said Vellappally had worked not just for his community but for the entire state of Kerala too. 

The SNDP Yogam-backed Bharat Dharma Jana Sena, headed by Vellappally’s son Thushar Vellappally, is an ally of the BJP in Kerala.