Palakkd, 10 Jan (H.S.): Senior CPI(M) leader A. K. Balan has made it clear that he has no intention of apologising for his controversial remark that Jamaat-e-Islami would handle the home department if the UDF were to come to power in Kerala. Responding to a legal notice issued by Jamaat-e-Islami, Balan said he would send a formal reply within a week but would neither offer an unconditional apology nor pay any compensation.

Speaking to the media, Balan asserted that he was fully prepared to face legal consequences, even if it resulted in imprisonment. “If the final verdict is that I must go to jail, I will accept it happily,” he said, adding that courts and legal battles were nothing new to him.

Recounting his long political journey, the veteran leader said his familiarity with prison life dates back to his student days. He recalled spending 30 days in Kannur Central Jail for participating in the land ceiling movement. He also referred to his remand in connection with the NGO teachers’ agitation.

Balan further noted that while serving as a minister, he had once been sentenced to two-and-a-half years by the Ottapalam court in a major case against him, but secured a stay on the sentence the very next day. He pointed out that he did not lose his ministerial position then either.

Strongly rejecting the allegations, Balan described them as baseless and politically motivated. He said the accusations were fabricated to humiliate and defame both him and the CPI(M) in the public sphere. According to him, there was a deliberate attempt to project him as someone with an anti-minority mindset, a charge he firmly denied.

Highlighting his political legacy, Balan said his more than 60 years of public life stood testimony to his commitment to democratic and secular values.

Jamaat-e-Islami has demanded ₹1 crore in damages through the legal notice and has sought withdrawal of Balan’s statement alleging the organisation’s involvement in communal riots. Despite the pressure, Balan remains defiant and ready to fight the case legally and politically.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Arun Lakshman