Chennithala shares concern over growing influence of communal forces

Kozhikode: Senior Congress leader and Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala on Sunday shared his concerns about the growing influence of communal forces in Kerala, through a Facebook post.

In the post appeared on his official page, Chennithala has said that the recent elections indicate that religious identity is playing a greater role in our electoral politics.

Like most of the people from the state, I am proud to say that Kerala is one state where all religions have very peacefully and harmoniously existed for more than a thousand years.
The beautiful amalgamation of different cultures can be seen clearly in any community's traditions in Kerala. For centuries, we have respected and accepted the beliefs, and traditions of other communities, so much so that, we have adopted some of those traditions into our own.
I have a feeling that this harmony is being challenged like never before at this point of time, he said

“Are we now on the verge of creating a political environment that will be violent and divisive for our children? Are we starting to lose the true Indian culture?, asked the Congress leader.

He said the people in the State should not allow political parties to follow the British example of divide and rule policy. “Most of the communal parties today are offshoots of organizations which played part in the British Divide and rule policy even before independence. They were effectively British agents.”

It is true India needs a common set of shared values. We cannot become a value-less society. These values are very well embodied in the constitution - Liberty, equality and justice. The nation doesn't need another holy book to decide our national values. On the issues that we do not agree, let us respectfully disagree like civilized people, he added.