Thiruvananthapuram, Sept. 6 -- Keralam Health Minister K Muralidharan on Sunday slammed the Muslim scholarly body Samastha for its criticism of the Chief Minister's stance on women's rights, asserting that society cannot return to the "18th century" and must uphold the constitutional mandate of equality.

The controversy erupted after Samastha criticised the Chief Minister's remarks regarding Kanthapuram AP Aboobacker Musliyar's views on the status of women, urging political leaders to speak with "decency" regarding religious matters.

Speaking to ANI, Muralidharan termed the religious body's criticism as "unfortunate" and emphasised that women hold equal status in modern India.

"That is a very bad thing because women have equal rights w...