A day after Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana (SNDP) Yogam General Secretary Vellappally Natesan stirred outrage with his statement that Muslim community would be the dominant population in Kerala, Muslim League dubbed him Kerala Togadia, a scathing reference to Praveen Togadia, president, International Hindu Parishad, who had been embroiled in rows over hate speeches and anti-Muslim comments.

Vellappally mouthed off about Muslim community in a speech laden with divisive statements and communally-tinted remarks at a branch leadership convention of SNDP held in Kottayam on Saturday. He said both the LDF and the UDF played to the interests of the Muslim community and for any decision, the government has to rush to Malappuram to get consent; be it school timings or introducing of Zumba dance. He even twisted a past comment by veteran CPM leader V S Achuthanandan to say that Kerala would be a Muslim-majority state in 40 years.

Achuthanandan in fact made this remark in a different context while slamming the Popular Front of India. In 2012, when he was the Chief Minister, he told reporters that PFI aimed to convert Kerala into a Muslim-dominated state in 20 years by giving youths money and weapons and forcing conversion from other communities. Vellappally took this quote out of context and inserted in his speech to give an impression that he was merely echoing what a Kerala former CM had said. BJP National Executive Member Amit Malviya's post on X also carries a sliced version of Achuthanandan's comment saying how Kerala would be dominated by Muslims in 20 years.

Vellappally's inflammatory statement comes two months after he was slammed for remarks on Malappuram. He had said Malappuram district functioned like a separate nation and was dominated by certain sections of the population, making it difficult for others to live freely or express opinions.

While IUML had then dismissed the remark as irrelevant, this time, the party was not willing to give it a pass. An editorial published on Sunday in Muslim league mouthpiece 'Chandrika', whips out derisive comments against Vellappally. "He spews communalism in a way even Praveen Togadia cannot compete. There is a competition going on between a man from Poonjar ( P C George) and him on who is the worst religious extremist. Kerala police and the government have no qualms about this. The venom being spread by the Sangh Parivar activists in North India is spewed with impunity by this man in Kerala. He is working overtime to become Kerala Togadia," the editorial says.

Vellappally said on Saturday that when two wards were reduced following delimitation in Alappuzha, four wards increased in Malappuram. Muslim League has also started demanding more seats. If they wanted Deputy CM post earlier, now they are looking for CM chair, Vellappally said.

The league shot back. "Do you know that C H Mohammad Koya was a Muslim CM? Which book says that a Muslim cannot be Kerala CM? He is patronising majoritarian communalism with such remarks," the editorial says.