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IUML state general secretary PMA Salam made compared the Kerala Chief Minister with his Tamil Nadu and West Bengal counterparts
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. (PTI file photo)
A political row erupted in Kerala after Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) state general secretary PMA Salam made a controversial remark about Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, suggesting that he “doesn’t belong to either gender.”
Speaking at a women’s public meeting of the party in Vazhakkad, Malappuram, Salam compared the Kerala Chief Minister with his Tamil Nadu and West Bengal counterparts. He said that Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had shown courage by refusing to sign the central government’s PM SHRI scheme, while Kerala’s Chief Minister had failed to do so.
“Tamil Nadu CM Stalin showed us that if you are a man, then you will oppose it. A strong woman like you in West Bengal Mamata Banerjee said that this communal poison won’t be accepted in Bengal. Kerala’s Chief Minister doesn’t belong to the category of either a man or woman and that’s why he decided to sign the scheme,” Salam said, adding that the state’s “biggest insult” was to have such a leader.
The comment drew widespread condemnation, especially from the ruling CPI(M). Education Minister V. Sivankutty called the remark “extremely despicable and insulting to cultural Kerala.” He wrote on social media that such statements were “inhuman and anti-democratic” and should never come from a leader of a major political organisation.
Following the backlash, the IUML leadership distanced itself from Salam’s statement. Party state president Syed Sadikali Shihab Thangal said that political criticism should never turn into a personal attack.
IUML national general secretary PK Kunhalikutty also said that the party always speaks respectfully of its political opponents.
“There could be slip of the tongue at times. Our leader has corrected Salam today,” he said. Kunhalikutty added that the real issue was the state government’s decision to support an education policy that, according to him, promotes Hindutva ideology.
The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, the Desk d…Read More
The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, the Desk d… Read More
Kerala, India, India
November 02, 2025, 22:51 IST
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