Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan Tuesday  condemned BJP leader and Maharashtra’s Fisheries and Ports Minister Nitesh Rane’s statement calling Kerala a “mini Pakistan” describing it as extremely vexing and inflammatory.

In a statement issued here , Vijayan said Nitesh Rane’s remarks are highly provocative and condemnable and alleged that the Maharashtra minister’s words show the basic approach of the Sangh Parivar forces towards Kerala.

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“The Sangh Parivar believes it can isolate those geographical areas, where it does not have influence  by alienating it and indulging in hate  speech. Such remarks are an offshoot of such beliefs,” Pinarayi Vijayan said.

Chief Minister Vijayan also said the Maharashtra minister who indulged in hate speech has no right to continue in his post. He added that it was surprising that the party that rules the nation is silent about the minister who has violated his oath of office and insulted the country’s Constitution.

“The minister who made the hateful statement does not deserve to continue in that position. It is surprising that the leadership of the ruling party in the country has not responded to the action of the minister who committed a serious breach of oath that insults the country’s Constitution,” added CM Vijayan.

Maharashtra Minister Nitesh Rane sparked a controversy on Sunday by calling Kerala a ‘mini Pakistan” and alleging that Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were elected as MPs from the state because “terrorists voted for them.”

Speaking at a rally in Purandar tehsil of Pune district on Sunday, Nitesh Rane said, “Kerala is a mini Pakistan. Terrorists (previously) voted for Rahul Gandhi and now for his sister Priyanka Gandhi.”

Facing sharp criticism from opposition parties for his comments, the BJP minister on Monday maintained that Kerala is very much a part of India, and he is merely raising issues of religious conversion of Hindus and “love jihad” in the southern state.

Leader of Opposition in the Kerala Assembly, V D Satheesan, said Rane, who called Kerala a “mini-Pakistan” and insulted Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi, should resign from his position as a minister.

Satheesan said a similar statement was also made by senior CPI-M leader and party  politburo member A Vijayaraghavan, who said that Rahul secured victory in the Wayanad seat twice with the support of communal forces and that extremist elements were present at Priyanka Gandhi’s campaign rallies. He claimed that the communal remarks, initially made by the CPI-M in Kerala to please the Sangh Parivar leadership, were now being adopted by the BJP at the national level.

KPCC  president K Sudhakaran has alleged that both the BJP and the CPI-M are orchestrating a coordinated effort to tarnish Kerala’s secular legacy.

 He claimed that BJP leader and Maharashtra minister Nitesh Rane’s hate speech, based on CPI-M Politburo member Vijayaraghavan’s statement, stands as evidence of this conspiracy.