Demands an apology from the BJP chief.
AB Wire
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Amit Shah made a huge gaffe on his Facebook page on the eve of the festival of Onam, with a ‘Happy Vaman Jayanti’ greeting, and he’s now mired in a controversy. The Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan has demanded an apology for the social media post, which according to him, has humiliated all Malayalees.
Shah posted a message on his Facebook page sending his greetings on ‘Vaman Jayanti’, where an image can be see of Vaman, the fifth avatar of Lord Vishnu, stepping on the head of King Mahabali, the famous mythological king popular in Malayali lore.
“By eulogizing Vamana and denigrating Mahabali in his Facebook post, BJP national president Amit Shah has humiliated Kerala and Malayali’s national festival Onam. The belief behind Onam is of equality and egalitarianism and it is a festival celebrated by all cutting across caste, creed, religion and other barriers,†Vijayan said in a statement.
Asserting that during Mahabalis’s rule there was no evil, cheating and wrong doings and the people lived in harmony, the Chief Minister added that Malayalis see Mahabali as the symbol of equality and egalitarianism.
“By denigrating Mahabli and eulogizing Vamana who had stomped Mahabali under the earth, the BJP president has buried the values of equality. The BJP president should immediately withdraw his statement and apologize to the people of Kerala,†he said.
Shah has not yet given a response to Vijayan’s demand.