‘Centre treating Muslims as second-class citizens,’ Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan hits out

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Friday accused the BJP-led Union government of pushing policies that treat Muslims as “second-class citizens”, citing the Citizenship Act and the proposed new Waqf Act as examples of discrimination.

Vijayan made the remarks while addressing the concluding session of the Kerala Yatra, a statewide outreach organised by the Kerala Muslim Jamaat. The yatra, led by Kanthapuram A P Aboobacker Musliyar, started from Kasaragod on January 1 and reached its finale at Putharikandam Maidan in the state capital.

The Chief Minister alleged that secularism, democracy and constitutional values were under strain as minority communities, including Muslims and Christians, continued to face attacks across the country.

He cautioned that communal forces—whether majority or minority—fuel each other. “Majority communalism cannot be fought with minority communalism as both forces complement each other. Instead, they have to be fought by strengthening secularism,” he said.

Vijayan stressed that adopting a “soft stand” or following an “appeasement strategy” towards any form of communalism was “dangerous”, adding that Kerala’s strong resistance to divisive politics had helped the state overcome past communal tensions.

He also urged the public to remain alert to campaigns aimed at dividing society on the basis of religion, caste, race or language. Commending the Kerala Muslim Jamaat’s initiative, he said, “In this era when conscious efforts are being made to separate people in the name of religion or race, such moves are a great defence against it.”

The meeting was also attended by Leader of the Opposition V D Satheesan and other senior Congress leaders.

PTI