Union Minister Rajeev Chandrashekhar clarifies over his remarks about Kerala blasts

Chandrasekhar said that in his posts, he "never spoke about any particular community and he specifically mentioned 'Hamas'.

Eranakulam: Union minister for Electronics and Information Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar has clarified over his comments in the wake of the Kalamassery blasts in Kerala while hitting out at Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. The comments came a day after Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan threatened of taking legal action against BJP leaders including Chandrasekhar for making “communally-charged comments” in the backdrop of the Kalamassery blasts.

The multiple blasts which took place at the international convention centre in Kalamassery on Sunday killed three people while over 50 others were injured in the blasts. The blasts took place when the followers from minority Christian group, Jehovah's Witnesses, had assembled at the international convention centre for the final day of a three-day-long prayer meeting.

Soon after the blasts, union minister Chandrashekhar took to X, while hitting out at the Kerala government for its “support” to the 'Terrorist Jihad' he said had led to the attack on “innocent Christians”. However, in the meantime, a member of the Jehovah's Witnesses Dominic Martin confessed to have carried out the blasts leaving Chandrashekhar red-faced.

Following the confession by Dominic Martin, CM Pinarayi hit out at Union Minister's “misleading and communal remarks”. In a statement issued in this regard, Chief Minister Pinarayi said, "This is a highly prejudiced approach with a clear intention to target a particular community. It is part of their communal agenda.

On what basis has he made these statements? Was he in possession of any sensitive information that prompted him to make such a statement? This is a grave issue. People should not be misled. We will take this on legally”. However, Chandrashekhar while defending his remarks said that both the Left and Congress “have been allowing radical elements to grow in the state” in reference to the alleged online address by former Hamas chief Khaled Mashal at a meeting organised in support of Palestine by the Solidarity Youth Movement in Malappuram recently.

“I never spoke about any particular community. I specifically mentioned 'Hamas'. It is almost as if Pinarayi wants to equate Hamas with one community,” Chandrashekhar said.