Published Sep 07, 2026 | 4:37 PM ⚊ Updated Sep 07, 2026 | 5:04 PM
Abdulla Basil CP
Synopsis: The FIR has triggered criticism, with MLAs from the IUML, the second-largest party in the ruling coalition, also calling for the case to be withdrawn.
Abdulla Basil CP, a leader of the Wisdom Islamic Organisation, has been booked by the Keralam Police for criticising Aparna Kurup, senior coordinating editor of BIG TV.
Basil had criticised Kurup on social media over her remarks about the Muslim community during a television debate.
The criticism was over Kurup’s introduction to an episode of the Big Dialogue on her channel, which discussed Sunni scholar Kanthapuram AP Aboobacker Musliyar’s remarks that women should be confined to their homes.
Big TV had subsequently issued an apology, saying, “Some of the remarks in the ‘Big Dialogue’ discussion against gender discrimination against women should have been omitted. We express our deepest regret if this hurt anyone’s religious sentiments or beliefs. We also wish to inform you that the video has been removed from all of Big TV’s social media platforms, as it had the potential to spread misunderstanding in society while addressing the demand for equal status and social justice for women, regardless of the religion involved.”
In her complaint, Kurup alleged that she received threats following Basil’s social media post.
The FIR has triggered criticism, with MLAs from the IUML, the second-largest party in the ruling UDF coalition, also calling for the case to be withdrawn.
The Kochi city police have also registered a case against Kurup following a complaint filed by a Kasaragod native over her allegedly sensitive remarks.
Keralam Chief Minister VD Satheesan disagreed with Kanthapuram’s controversial remarks, as South First reported, stating that such a view might have had a place in centuries past but had no place in the present.
Addressing the press on September 2, Satheesan said neither the Congress nor the UDF government would support such a position.
“We cannot agree with that view in any way, whatsoever. It is something that someone in the nineteenth century might have said; it has no place being said in the twenty-first century. Our progressive view is that women are not people who should remain confined to their homes. They should participate in all aspects of life and be part of the mainstream of society. There should be absolutely no doubt about that,” he said.
“So we cannot agree with any of these kinds of views in any way. Neither this government nor our party will stand with or support such a position.”
Kanthapuram, speaking at an Islamic conference in Kochi on Sunday, had claimed that bringing women into the public sphere would cause “great destruction” and that Islam prescribed purdah to prevent this.
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(With inputs from Sreelakshmi Soman)
