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PALAKKAD: A cultural festival procession in Thrithala town in Kerala’s Palakkad featured photos of slain Hamas and Hezbollah leaders, fuelling heated debate among political parties and on social media. On Sunday morning, banners bearing images of deceased Hamas leaders Ismail Haniyeh and Yahya Sinwar, and Hezbollah’s Hassan Nasrallah, also deceased, were displayed by a group of people during a procession during Desholsavam, a local cultural festival.
BJP organised protest events across Palakkad while the party’s state unit demanded the state govt act strongly, even as Congress alleged the saffron party was communalising the issue. BJP approached the police with a complaint but a case is yet to be registered.
The procession, featuring elephants, performers and musical groups, marked the final day of the week-long festival in which people from all walks of life, regardless of faith and political affiliation, took part. The yearly gathering coincides with the annual offering (Aandu Nercha) at a nearby mosque (Jaaram) in the locality, although the mosque administration is not directly associated with the festivities. Three separate boards featuring Hamas and Hezbollah men were displayed by individuals positioned on three elephants.
“During past festivals, boards featuring international leaders like Yasser Arafat and Che Guevara were exhibited, reflecting the contemporary issues of those times. The latest boards correspond to the ongoing discussions on the Palestine-Israel conflict. The matter holds no communal significance,” said festival committee president Muhammed Koppath, also a Congress worker.
Festival committee secretary KP Sreenivasan, a local CPM neta, said: “The fest is a secular gathering. We noticed the boards only when the visuals went viral. It was done by one of the groups and not with the committee’s consent.”
Local BJP worker Unnikrishnan Mezhathoor alleged that a group of people with extremist links was behind the incident and Congress and CPM were supporting them in hope of votes in Muslim-majority assembly segment.
BJP state president K Surendran has already demanded action against the organisers.
Congress functionary VT Balram said Sangh Parivar was using the issue for its anti-Muslim hate campaigns.
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