Expressing "shock" over the participation of Hamas leader Khaled Mashal at a pro-Palestine rally in Kerala, state BJP Vice President VT Rema said a "group of Islamic terrorists" has "shown their real mindset" in a secular country like India.
"It was shocking news to hear...It is tragic and deployable to see that in a secular country like India and in the southernmost state called Kerala a group of Islamic terrorists has shown their real mindset...Everybody knows Hamas attacked Israel in an unprecedented way without notice...," Ms Rema told ANI.
The Hamas leader took part in the event which was organised by Solidarity Youth Movement, the youth wing of Jamaat-Islami in Kerala. Mashal, a former Hamas chief, addressed the gathering virtually in Arabic language.
After the rally, Kerala BJP president K Surendran said such events were unacceptable and slammed the state government.
"Hamas leader Khaled Mashel's virtual address at the Solidarity event in Malappuram is alarming. Where's Pinarayi Vijayan's Kerala Police? Under the guise of 'Save Palestine,' they're glorifying Hamas, a terrorist organization, and its leaders as 'warriors.' This is unacceptable! HMO India," K Surendran posted on X on Friday.
The Israel-Hamas war entered the 22nd day on Saturday. India strongly condemned "the horrific terrorist attack on Israel" on October 7 and said the international community must stand together in combating terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, and there can be no equivocation on this.
"There was also an issue of Palestine, and on that, we have reiterated our position in favour of direct negotiations for establishing a two-state solution. We have also expressed our concern about the civilian casualties and the humanitarian situation. We would urge the strict observance of international humanitarian law," Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said in a media briefing earlier this month.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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