‘Drop Bhalaji from Cabinet for talk against minorities’

Condemning state Dairy Minister KT Rajenthra Bhalaji for his controversial speech linking the entire Islamic Community with terrorism, Opposition parties, including DMK, on Sunday, urged the state government to drop him from the Cabinet. 

“Rajenthra Bhalaji, who took pledge according to the Constitution is now acting against the fundamentals of the same Constitution. Governor Banwarilal Purohit should remove him from the state Cabinet and legal action should be initiated against him,” said DMK president MK Stalin, in a tweet.

Earlier, Rajenthra Bhalaji, in an interview to a private Tamil news channel, made several controversial statements on Muslims linking the entire community with terrorism.

He also warned that Hindu terrorism will be inevitable if Hindus are continued to be murdered by Muslims.

His comments stirred a huge controversy as Opposition parties condemned Rajenthra Bhalaji and demanded action against him. “Rajenthra Bhalaji’s plans to spew venom and to harvest hatred among the people of the nation is severely condemnable,” said Stalin.

Meanwhile, SDPI state general secretary Umar Farooq, addressing reporters in Tirunelveli, said that Rajenthra Bhalaji’s statement on the murder of Tiruchy BJP functionary is harmful. “Even though police had stated clearly that Tiruchy BJP functionary was murdered for personal reasons, Rajenthra Bhalaji is trying to give communal colour for the murder by saying that the BJP man was murdered by Muslims due to communal reasons which is not true. Minister is acting as a puppet of fundamental forces and is insulting the minorities,” said Umar Farooq.

However, Fisheries Minister D Jayakumar defended his Cabinet colleague by attacking DMK. “The DMK has no right to speak about minorities as the party has been involved in dividing people on communal lines.”Jayakumar also equated DMK with Coronavirus and said that the party is infecting the people of the country.