Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) leader KM Shaji on January 16 came up with a social media post providing an explanation for his controversial comments against the LGBTQ community. He had called them a ‘shame’ on society and the ‘worst sorts of people.’
The contentious Muslim leader made these remarks on January 15, while speaking at a memorial service for the late E. Ahmad, a Muslim League veteran who served as Union Minister of State for External Affairs in Manmohan Singh’s Congress-led UPA government.
In a Facebook message posted on Monday, the leader said that the word LGBTQ sounds something important, but those are uncouth local activities. He said the sexual preferences of lesbians, gays and bisexuals are unnatural and the ‘+’ includes paedophiles, incestophiles, necrophiles and zoophiles. “They are the worst humans. They are projecting it as colourful, but the term itself is dangerous, it creates anarchy in society. Deciding one’s gender after growing up is just silly,” he said.
“It is also a matter of faith. No believer in the world will accept this. When you hear LGBTQ, it sounds like something serious, but it’s not. Those who practice it are the worst kind of people, even this term is dangerous. There are many ways to solve this hormonal disorder including counselling,” Shaji further added.
The Muslim leader further accused the state administration of seeking to undermine religious groups’ ‘beliefs and culture’ by instilling ‘gender confusion’. “When you hear LGBTQ, don’t think it is something very big. It is an ugly business. Those who indulge in this are promoting homosexuality. Now, attempts are on to give some colour to this,” Shaji said. “Even the usage of the word LGBTQ is dangerous. The people behind this campaign are trying to create chaos in society,” he added.
“There are many methods, including counselling, to treat it. It is foolish to say that gender should be decided only after the person becomes a major. It is equally dangerous to let people decide their gender,” he said. “Males and females are the beauty of nature. India stands out in the world because of the charm of this diversity of colors. This difference is beauty. Humans are not the only living thing in the world that has gender. There are male and female plants,” he added.
Shaji’s party, the Indian Union Muslim League, is Congress’s main coalition partner in Kerala. KM Shaji, who is a notable face of the Muslim League, is on the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau’s radar (VACB). He is accused of accepting a bribe of 25 lakhs from the administration of an aided school in Azhikode in 2014 in exchange for allowing additional Plus Two courses. Shaji’s home was seized as part of the money laundering investigation and charges that he has amassed riches disproportionate to his known sources of income.
According to the reports, the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau recovered undocumented cash of Rs 47.35 lakhs, 60 sovereigns of jewelry, 475 kg of gold ornaments, and foreign currency from several nations from his property in Kozhikode during a raid in April 2021.
The leader was also charged with criminal misconduct by a public worker under Section 13 of the Prevention of Corruption Act and attachment and forfeiture of property under Section 13 of the Prevention of Corruption Act (Amendment) Act.
The VACB noted in its preliminary report to the Vigilance Court that Shaji had amassed an additional income of Rs 1.4 crore during the previous nine years. In the 2021 state assembly elections, Shaji, who stood as a part of the Congress-led UDF, lost from Azhikode constituency in Kannur, with LDF candidate K V Sumesh wresting the seat.
Further his win in the 2016 assembly elections was ruled null and unlawful by the Kerala High Court in 2018. The court affirmed accusations on Shaji that he engaged in flagrant sectarian mobilisation to defeat LDF candidate Nikesh Kumar. He was forbidden from contesting elections for six years and was directed to pay Nikesh Kumar Rs 50,000 as a fee. The Supreme Court of India, however, stayed the ruling. Shaji is at present the president of the Muslim Youth League.
