After RSS-Jamaat e Islami meeting political row in Kerala, state chief terms meet 'positive initiative'

A meeting between the RSS and Jaamt-e-Islami back on January 14 in New Delhi has elicited, so far, sharp responses from other Kerala parties, who have slammed the move. T Arif Ali, Kerala head of the party, on Thursday noted that discussions between the two sides were a 'positive initiative'.

Kozhikode: Following a meeting between the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the Kerala-based Jamat-e-Islami back on January 14 in New Delhi, the political discussion in Kerala has been rife with criticism from several state parties. With many major political sides in the Southern state coming forward with criticism, T Arif Ali, General Secretary and former Kerala ameer (head) of the party, said on Thursday that the holding talks between the two sides was a 'positive initiative'.

"It is true that RSS representatives and leading Muslim organizations in the country held talks, it is not a secret. In the meeting, Islamic organizations asked the RSS to stop the implementation of extreme ideas such as hate speech, lynching and genocide," a report cited Ali as saying earlier in the day. The cascading response to the action from within the state, however, has so far visibly not acknowledged the explanation.

Criticising the move, former minister and current CPI(M) MLA KT Jaleel said people are 'keen to know' who was the mediator of the discussion. He further urged Jamaat-e-Islami to reveal details of the meeting, adding whether the RSS, the BJP's ideological parent, regretted the death of people killed by cow vigilantes in India.

"Has the BJP apologised for the Muslim massacre in Gujarat? Did UP Chief Minister Yogi Adithyanath agree to retract from the move to rename places? The Jamaat-e-Islami cannot move forward without answering these questions," Jaleel added.

Congress leader and MP K Muraleedharan opined that it was not possible for anyone to change the RSS' policy. "No matter who thinks they will change RSS' policy, it will not happen. Their aim is to eliminate the minority," he said. All India Muslim League leader and MLA P.K. Kunhalikutty, meanwhile, said there was no situation left for talks with the RSS.

"It is time to fight them. It is up to them to explain the discussion, and the position of the Muslim League is that if we go for reconciliation with organisations that have extreme religious ideas, it will cause great danger" he noted. Other Islamic organisations, including Samastha, also came forward to criticize the RSS-Jamaat-e-Islami meeting.