Kannur, Jan. 10 -- AICC General Secretary K.C. Venugopal on Saturday strongly criticised Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan for supporting A.K. Balan's controversial remarks related to Marad.

Venugopal said that he initially thought it was only Balan's personal statement, but the Chief Minister's endorsement made it far more serious.

"What the Chief Minister has said reflects a kind of communalism that even the Sangh Parivar hesitates to express. These are issues that should never be used for political gain," Venugopal said.

A.K. Balan had claimed that if the UDF came to power, Jamaat-e-Islami would control the Home Department, and that it could lead to more incidents like Marad. He had also warned that many more "Marads" would occ...