Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) leader P.K. Kunajalikkutty said that extremist terrorists were behind the Marad massacre of May 2, 2003. But, the buck is passed to IUML. Taking a dig at Popular Front, he said, ‘they’ even teach children to raise slogans threatening that they will kill the opponents. It was an indirect allegation against PFI. Because, recently one child was raising the slogans, in a PFI rally in Alappuzha, threatening Hindus and Christians that if they ‘do not behave properly’ they would be killed.
Kunjalikkutty was addressing a programme of Muslim Students Federation (MSF), student wing of IUML, near Kozhikode. Kunjalikkuty made it clear that National Democratic Front (NDF), the parent body of PFI, was responsible for Marad Massacre. Extremists hid in the dark and implemented a massacre in the night. It made the Maradu people refugees. Later on, IUML was blamed for it.
IUML leader claimed that his party stands for and practises peace. Even in Nadapuram, IUML did not follow extremist path. It is extremist activists who unleashed murder in Nadapuram. (Nadapuram is the place where CPM and IUML are at loggerheads always). He repeated the allegation that even children are raising slogans threatening Hindus and Christians, obviously repeated reference to PFI.
Kunjalikkutty said that it was cowards who land in religious extremism. This is Kunjalikkutty’s first criticism of PFI since it was banned recently.
It is to be remembered that IUML was the major coalition partner of Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) when the Marad Massacre occurred. At that time, BJP was the only party which demanded a judicial enquiry into the massacre in view of the interstate links and foreign links involved in the incident. There was also allegation that a sealed mosque in Marad was opened and washed for facilitating prayers for former Union Minister of State and senior IUML leader E. Ahmed despite prohibition orders prevailed there. It was reported that the killers had come to this mosque with weapons after the massacre, and obviously the hall was blood-stained. This could be the reason for police’s sealing of the mosque. But, cleaning and washing might have erased the valuable evidences which could have been much helpful to the investigating agencies to complete the proper and fruitful enquiry. Those days, Hindu organisations had alleged that the then Kozhikode District Collector K.O. Sooraj took the steps for it. Therefore, right-thinking people believe that Kunjalikkutty’s latest stand is nothing but a public relation exercise to create an impression of dissociation from PFI.
