New Delhi, Apr 16: Kerela Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state president PS Sreedharan Pillai stoked a controversy on Monday after he said that Muslim can be identified 'by removing their clothes" in an apparent reference to circumcision. Speaking at a campaign rally in Attingal on Sunday, Sreedharan Pillai said with a giggle that Muslims can be identified by ‘removing their clothes’, in a reference to circumcision. Speaking about the Balakot Air Strike by the Indian Air Force, Sreedharan Pillai said, “Our Rahul Gandhi, Yechury, and Pinarayi are saying, our soldiers have to go there and see the count of the dead...their caste, religion etc.”

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“If it is Islam, there are some signs, no?” he continued, “If you remove their clothes you will be able to know. We have to do all that and return is what they are saying.” He was referring to questions being raised about the number of people killed in the Balakot strike; several international media houses have questioned the BJP’s stated figures, whereas the Indian Air Force itself has not declared any numbers.

The Kerala state president’s remark has sparked a political row in the state which has drawn widespread criticism from both the LDP and the Congress in the state. However, despite the video doing the rounds, speaking to TNM, the BJP state president denied having made such a comment during the campaign. “This is a Himalayan lie. I have never made any such comment anywhere. I will be taking legal action to counter these allegations and the complaint against me in the EC,” he said.

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