Javadekar accuses CM Vijayan of caste and religious bias amidst ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ debate

Senior BJP leader Prakash Javadekar has accused Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan of viewing society through the ”prism of caste, creed and religion”, as the saffron party intensified its attack against the Marxist veteran over his statement on the slogan ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai.’ Addressing a rally organised by the CPI(M) in Malappuram on Monday against the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), the Chief Minister had said the slogans ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ and ‘Jai Hind’ were first raised by two Muslims and asked whether the Sangh Parivar would be ready to abandon them.

”Kerala CM asked whether BJP will chant Bharat Mata ki Jai slogan after knowing that one Muslim poet has coined it? Mr Pinarayi, we don’t see society from the prism of caste, creed, or religion. We will chant Bharat Mata ki Jai. Will you chant?” Javadekar, who is also the party’s Kerala in-charge, said in a post on ‘X’ on Tuesday.

Reaching out to the minority community in this Muslim-dominated north Kerala district, the veteran CPI(M) leader had said Muslim rulers, cultural icons and officials had played a significant role in the country’s history and independence movement.

Drawing examples from history to prove his point, Vijayan had said a Muslim man named Azimullah Khan had coined the slogan ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai.’ He had also said an old diplomat named Abid Hasan had first raised the slogan ‘Jai Hind’.