Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan upbraided ruling LDF MLA K.T. Jaleel for his remarks on Jammu and Kashmir, terming them “very unfortunate” and “totally unacceptable”.
The legislator had sparked off an outrage on Friday after he used terms like “Azad Kashmir” and “Indian occupied Kashmir” in a Facebook post which he withdrew later.
“It is very unfortunate. Not only is it unacceptable, I wonder if these comments were made after going through some literature or after knowing something or just out of ignorance. I do not know,” the governor said.
“I feel very sorry for this kind of comment. It is totally unacceptable. I feel hurt by these kinds of comments. Do we not realise the preciousness of our freedom? Do we not realise the importance of our national integrity? How can we afford to say things like this?”, he asked.
Jaleel, who was a minister in the previous CPM-led LDF government, kicked up a row after he wrote in a post: “The part of Kashmir annexed to Pakistan was known as ‘Azad Kashmir’ and it was an area where the Pakistan government does not have direct control.”
“Indian adheena (occupied) Jammu and Kashmir consists of parts of Jammu, Kashmir Valley and Ladakh,” he further said in the post which he shared after his recent visit to the Union territory. As his remarks kicked up a row, Jaleel on Saturday removed the controversial portions from the post, but refused to tender an apology.
“It came to my notice that certain remarks I made in a write-up about my trip to Kashmir as part of the expatriate welfare committee of the Legislative Assembly were misleading. I hereby withdraw the statement which was interpreted in contrary to my intention for the good of society and to maintain social harmony,” he said.
Meanwhile, the MLA who was to attend a few events in Delhi on Sunday, cut short his visit and returned to Kerala in the early morning. Both the Congress and the BJP have demanded Jaleel’s resignation as MLA while the CPM has distanced itself from the former minister’s remarks, saying they were not the party’s view.
