Overview
- P. M. A. Salam made the remark at a Vazhakkad party event while criticising Kerala's decision to sign the Centre's PM SHRI agreement.
- He alleged the scheme advances a Hindutva agenda and sidelines languages such as Arabic, Urdu and English.
- IUML state president Sadiq Ali Shihab Thangal and national general secretary P. K. Kunhalikutty said the party corrected him and disowned the statement.
- CPI(M) leaders, including Education Minister V. Sivankutty, condemned the remark as despicable and called for a public apology.
- The Kerala government has frozen the PM SHRI MoU after objections from ally CPI, keeping the education-policy dispute unresolved.