CPI(M) Kerala Secretary MV Govindan on Sunday stated that he would legally counter the defamation notice served by Jamaat-e-Islami over his remarks against the organization.
Speaking to media persons in Nilambur, Govindan reiterated that Jamaat-e-Islami was the only group that had abstained from the protest against the Pahalgam terror attack, and continues to do so.
“Let Jamaat-e-Islami send a legal notice; we will respond through legal means. The only group that stayed away from the protest against the Pahalgam attack is Jamaat-e-Islami, and they are continuing with that stance,” he said.
Govindan also demanded that Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi clarify her position on the UDF accepting the support of the Welfare Party — the political arm of Jamaat-e-Islami — in the Nilambur by-poll.
The Kerala unit of Jamaat-e-Islami has served a legal notice to MV Govindan for his statement that the organization failed to condemn the terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir.
Citing a statement by Jamaat-e-Islami national president Syed Sadatullah Husaini condemning the attack, Shihab Pookottur, the organization’s Kerala secretary, alleged in the notice — issued through Advocate Ameen Hasan — that Govindan was attempting to gain political mileage in the Nilambur by-election by spreading Islamophobia through a false narrative.
The notice demands a public apology and compensation of ₹1 crore for the allegedly defamatory statement.