Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan came down heavily on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for opposing the renaming of the Kovoor Community Hall after Communist leader P. Krishna Pillai.
Opening the P. Krishna Pillai Memorial Auditorium at Kovoor here on Tuesday, he said that those without knowledge of history questioned the legacy of stalwarts such as Mohammed Abdur Rahiman and P. Krishna Pillai. He added that while the two leaders suffered at the hands of the British police during the freedom struggle, a section took a stand in favour of the British government. They still influence the Central government and as a result of which there were attempts to re-write history in its favour.
“Removing episodes involving Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, and Abul Kalam Azad, besides the Mughal reign from history textbooks is unpardonable,” Mr. Vijayan said, adding that schools in the State would continue to teach them.
Mayor Beena Philip presided over the event in which Minister for Ports Ahammad Devarkovil was the chief guest. MPs M.K. Raghavan, Elamaram Kareem and Benoy Vishwam and MLA Thottathil Raveendran were the guests of honour.
The auditorium was conceptualised by the previous council of the Kozhikode Corporation in 2017-18. It has been constructed in 1.43 acres at a cost of ₹15 crore. The two-storey building consists of a dining hall on the ground floor and air-conditioned auditorium on the first floor. The design of the building is inspired by the traditional Kerala architecture. Paintings of the rich flora and fauna of Malabar, inspired by Hendrik van Rheede’s Hortus Malabaricus, depicted in Kerala mural style, though single coloured, adorn different parts of the building.
