Thiruvananthapuram: A day after slamming a Muslim scholar who allegedly reprimanded organisers of an event in Malappuram for inviting a girl on stage to receive a reward, Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan on Thursday said he was "disappointed" by the silence of the political, social and economic leadership of the country on the issue.
"I am so deeply disappointed that the whole political leadership is silent about it. And not just the political leadership, even others are silent about it. I appeal to the national leadership of every party to come forward and protect the honor and dignity of our daughters," Khan said while speaking to reporters here. "I believe that I have said much more (than them)," he said referring to the silence of the leadership in the state.
Over a question that the person in question was a leader of an organization that has around 10,000 Madrasas in Kerala, Khan responded that “their numbers did not matter in a democracy or rule of law and it was not going to make him suppress his conscience. They might be having a hundred thousand madrasas. But because of their strength, I am not going to keep my conscience suppressed. They might be very powerful, but they have no right to humiliate, to insult, and to offend the modesty of a young talented girl,” Khan said.
This is not merely a violation of the clear-cut commands of the Quran. It is clear cut violations of the provisions of the fundamental rights guaranteed in the Constitution," he added.
The alleged incident occurred during the inauguration of a 'Madrasa' building in Malappuram district, where students were felicitated recently. The memento was handed over to the girl by Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) leader Panakkad Sayed Abbas Ali Shihab Thangal.
Soon after the award was handed over, Muslim scholar M T Abdullah Musaliyar questioned the organizers as to why the girl was invited on stage. "Who invited a Class 10 girl to the stage?. Don't you know the rules of Samastha? Were you the one who called her?Ask her parents to come to the stage to collect the award. Don't do such things while we are sitting here. This will appear in photos and will be telecasted," a visibly angry Musaliyar was seen telling the organizers, while Thangal was standing next to him. The person who announced the name of the girl was seen apologizing to Musaliyar later. The whole issue triggered a row of sorts.
(with agency inputs PTI)
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