CM Says Jamaat-e-Islami and Hindutva Forces Share Same Ideological Ground; Calls Congress Alliance a Dangerous Path

Kochi: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Friday said Jamaat-e-Islami and Hindutva organisations operate with the same ideological mindset and accused the Congress of aligning with Jamaat-e-Islami purely for electoral gains. He described the Congress stand as “suicidal” for the UDF.

Speaking at the ‘Meet the Press’ event at the Ernakulam Press Club, the chief minister said Jamaat-e-Islami is not a traditional organisation rooted in Kerala’s social structure but still intervenes in several matters in the state. He pointed out that Kerala’s Muslim community mainly consists of Sunnis, Mujahids and other minority groups, and most among them do not recognise Jamaat-e-Islami.

He said the Congress leadership has taken a stand that its own supporters will find impossible to accept. The UDF’s understanding with Jamaat-e-Islami is an “unholy alliance” formed only for votes.

The chief minister said Hindutva forces and political Islamists both promote religion-based nationalism and seek governance controlled by a particular religion. He compared their ideological thinking to that of Mussolini and Hitler. Referring to the teachings of Abul A’la Maududi, he said Jamaat-e-Islami had caused internal divisions among Muslim communities in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

“In India, political Islamists and Hindutva ideologues are birds of the same feather. Even if they pretend to oppose each other, they have explored ways to work together,” he said.

He alleged that when the Welfare Party of India—Jamaat-e-Islami’s political wing—was launched in 2011, the only person outside the organisation who attended the event was BJP Minority Morcha leader Dr. J K Jain. He also claimed that the organisation had discussions with the RSS in 2023.

He cited the Jammu and Kashmir elections and said there was a clear attempt by BJP and Jamaat-e-Islami to defeat CPI(M) leader Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami, who eventually won despite these efforts.

The chief minister said that many IUML supporters themselves oppose such alliances, but the UDF is now trying to satisfy both Jamaat-e-Islami and the BJP, which he said would put Kerala’s peace and secular values at risk.