Bharatiya Janata Party was trying to get cases registered against people just for supporting Palestine, but that those efforts would not work in Kerala, said chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday.
Vijayan was hitting back at hate comments from Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar and the BJP regarding a former Hamas chief’s virtual address at an event in Malappuram on Friday.
“This is not going to happen here. We and our country have always been with the Palestinian people,” Vijayan said.
“It is said that a Palestinian fighter had addressed that rally. What I understand is that it was a recorded video. Normally, when Jamaat-e-Islami or any other organisation seeks permission for meetings, police usually give sanction. Such permission was given to this meeting also,” Vijayan said.
“In this meeting, if something happened that should not have taken place, police will examine it and will do the needful,” he added.
The BJP and other Hindutva organisations have ran an anti-Muslim campaign and demanded an investigation into Friday’s event, organised by the Jamaat-e-Islami’s youth wing, Solidarity Youth Movement. Former head of Palestinian resist movement Hamas, Khaled Meshaal, virtually addressed the pro-Palestine rally.
In his speech in Arabic, the Palestinian resistance leader and former chief of Hamas political bureau, Meshaal, reiterated that the resistance against Israeli occupation will continue.
He said: “We should witness widespread protests in our society against the Israeli occupation. Firstly, we ought to unite and take to the streets, rallying for Palestine cause in various nations, also to protest American imperialism, which is complicit in the Zionist actions affecting our society. Secondly, our brothers in Gaza urgently require humanitarian and financial support. Thirdly, we must stay vigilant, staying informed about the ongoing injustices. Utilizing social media and other forms of media, we should counter misinformation propagated by Israel and stand in solidarity with the Palestinian struggle.”
