Attempts underway to divide voters: Thangal

Kozhikode: Amid the controversy over the advertisements published by LDF in a Sunni management-run newspapers on Tuesday ahead of Palakkad byelection, IUML state president Panakkad Syed Sadikali Shihab Thangal said that attempts were being made in Palakkad to divide voters in the constituency into different segments through speeches and advertisements. At the ruby jubilee function of Darul Huda Islamic University in Chemmad, Thangal said that the fascists will benefit if the voters are divided.

"When other voters get divided, the fascists would get all their voters in their ballot box and can emerge victorious. Some people tried to experiment this in Palakkad. We have to be vigilant against such efforts, be it through speeches or advertisements. I don't think it will succeed in Palakkad as the people here are intelligent and there is no place for fascists in Kerala's political consciousness," he said.

IUML national general secretary PK Kunhalikutty said that attempts are being made even in Kerala to split the secular voters so that the fascists can win. "Those who are behind it have taken a stand that it is fine even if BJP wins the election. The repercussions of such actions would be very serious," he said.

Thangal, who had visited Munambam on Monday, said that some people were trying to fan the Munambam land issue. He added that the relief the residents got when he visited there was significant. He said that it was made clear during that recent meeting of Muslim organizations that nobody was interested in evicting them.

Muslim and Christian communities and their leaders have decided to go ahead with love, friendship and brotherhood, he said, adding that the govt must take steps to resolve the issue at the earliest.