On September 13, BJP leader Amit Shah tweeted this image wishing his followers on Vamana Jayanti, which celebrates the birth of Vamana, an avatar of Vishnu.
Shah drew sharp criticism from different corners of Kerala for his greeting. The state is currently celebrating the festival of Onam, which commemorates Mahabali.
. @AmitShah what I'll u feel if we call your diwali Sundance festival? It is Onam. It is an ancient myth, much older than RSS & communists.
According to followers, Vamana cunningly killed the lower caste king Mahabali, under whose rule everyone in his kingdom was treated equally.
@AmitShah Your Vamana is a cheater. We do not want to celebrate his birthday . We Keralaites have a Dravidian legacy.. Down with Brahmanism
Legend says that this made the gods envious, and Vishnu took the form of Brahmin boy Vamana to defeat Mahabali.
Shah and the BJP are being called out for using the festival to promote a casteist agenda.
They are also being criticised for glorifying an event that directly opposes Onam, a festival that almost all of Kerala is celebrating.
Perhaps the most measured and best retort has come from Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who explained to Shah how Onam celebrates "unity beyond any boundaries of religion and caste."
He wrote about how Mahabali stands for a progressive society and a world devoid of malice, while celebrating Vamana is directly opposed to these principles that Malayalis stand for.
People have come forward to argue that Kerala believes in equality and that Shah is unnecessarily creating divisions.
Shah later also greeted his followers for Onam. However, he is yet to respond to the outrage for his previous actions.
Greetings to Malayali friends on Onam.May this auspicious festival shower happiness,peace and prosperity all around.