War of words between CM and ex-judge over CAA

TRIVANDRUM: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s public statement against former High Court judge B. Kemal Pasha, branding him as a religious extremist, has drawn sharp reaction.

Vijayan had the other day, without naming him, said the former judge was behaving like a spokesperson for the Jamaat-e-islami.

The JI, once its informal ally, was of late critical of Vijayan’s Communist Party of India (Marxist) or Cpm-led government over a host of issues, including rights violations.

Pasha had said the state government was going ahead with the National Register of Citizens (NRC) before implementing the new citizenship law, which critics say is anti-muslim.

“He might be trying to put words into my mouth, and his statement should be part of it,” Vijayan said, addressing a public meeting.

“When you are arguing for the Jamaat-e-islami, you should have thought of the high chair you were occupying. Don’t tell lies.”

Pasha had told an anti-citizenship (Amendment) Act or CAA protest meeting in Kozhikode, “Vijayan will not be there when you’re being driven to detention camps.” The CAA grants citizenships to non-muslim refugees from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

It helps expand the NRC, which lists people who can prove they came to India before the formation of Bangladesh in 1971, with new additions of non-muslim migrants.

The protesters fear the nationwide enumeration will lead to the exclusion of Muslims who fail to prove their ancestry supported by documents.

Critics say it’ll fulfill the ultimate aim of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to a majoritarian state.

Vijayan said his government was holding enumeration as part of the national population census and it had nothing to do with the new law.

Pasha retorted saying Vijayan was pretending to be with the protesters while he’s actually on the other side. He said the police were booking peaceful protesters.

Recently, the police had jailed dozens of

Congress leaders, including its district president T. Siddique, for four days for holding an antiCAA protest.

Charged with unlawful assembly and rioting, a court released them on bail after depositing Rs50,000 and producing two sureties with a value of Rs25,000 each.

“He might be afraid of Narendra Modi. I don’t need to,” he said, hinting at a 1995 scam involving Rs 3.74 billion, now under a federal investigation.

“I suspect he’s supporting the CAA while pretending otherwise. That’s why he’s trying to portray me as an extremist and the police arresting peaceful protesters.”