Former Hamas chief addresses pro-Palestine rally in Kerala; BJP demands action against organisers

The participation of a Hamas leader in a pro-Palestine event held at Malappuram in Kerala has stirred up a political storm with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) calling for legal action against the organisers.

Khaled Mashal, former head of the militant organisation,  virtually addressed the rally organised by the Solidarity Youth Movement, the youth wing of the Jamaat-e-Islami.

"Hamas leader Khaled Mashel's virtual address at the Solidarity event in Malappuram is alarming. Where's Pinarayi Vijayan's Kerala Police? Under the guise of 'Save Palestine,' they're glorifying Hamas, a terrorist organization, and its leaders as 'warriors.' This is unacceptable!,” Kerala BJP president K. Surendran said in a post on X, tagging the Union Home Ministry.

 According to reports, “Uproot bulldozer Hindutva and apartheid Zionism” slogans were raised at the rally.

BJP leader Dushyant Gautam termed it an “anti-national activity” and urged the CPI(M)-led Kerala government to stop such events.

"The country and the Government of India oppose any terrorist organisation. We oppose Hamas. The participation of the Hamas leader in the meeting is anti-national activity. The (state) government should stop this,” he told news agency ANI.

Gautam also targeted the INDIA bloc parties, saying they continuously make such efforts to degrade Sanatan Dharma and Hindu religion.

It may be noted that Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, while participating in a Palestine solidarity rally organised by the Indian Union Muslim League a day ago, had triggered a row after he said the October 7 attack by Hamas on Israel was a terrorist strike.

Facing an intense social media attack, Tharoor has issued a clarification, saying he has always been with the people of Palestine and he does not agree with the propagation of just one sentence from his speech at the IUML rally.

The IUML is a key ally of the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) in Kerala.