Kerala CM condemns UP student slapping incident, rebukes teacher for spewing communal poison

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday condemned the recent incident of a student getting slapped in a school in Uttar Pradesh, and sought to link it with alleged communal incidents in the BJP-ruled state.

The Chief Minister, in a Facebook post, alleged that "Hindutva communalism" was turning the country into a hotbed of hatred.

In the social media post, the Chief Minister said the latest incident in Muzaffarnagar -- where a student from a minority community was slapped by his classmates of another religion at the behest of their teacher -- is a reminder of how communalism and fascism can drain every last drop of empathy and love from a human being.

Vijayan laid the blame for it on the Sangh Parivar, saying that it was trying to dehumanise minorities and Dalits and reduce them to a social status worse than animals.

Vijayan, also a veteran CPI(M) leader, claimed that the news coming from Haryana and Manipur -- where incidents of violence were reported recently -- and now UP corroborates it.

He said the extent of communal poison that might have afflicted the teacher to carry out such an act was evident from the incident.

"However, it is not an isolated incident in Muzaffarnagar which has been deeply injured by the Sangh Parivar through riots," Vijayan alleged.

He said that such incidents underscore how much such dangerous communal propaganda can demonise a human being and is proof that communalism was the worst state of mind that a person can fall into.

The Chief Minister said the incident was also a warning to mount a strong defence against the ideology propagated by the Sangh Parivar.

Earlier in the day, the Left front government in Kerala said it was ready to adopt the boy from the minority community who was seen being slapped by his classmates on the instruction of a teacher -- an incident brought to light through a video circulating on social media.

A day ago, Kerala General Education Minister V Sivankutty had shot off a letter to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath expressing concern over the incident and seeking stern action against those responsible for promoting such divisive actions within an educational institution.