Kerala Sports Minister EP Jayarajan, who was mercilessly trolled for his comments on boxing legend Muhammad Ali has defended his remarks through a Facebook post on Sunday.

Add Asianet Newsable as a Preferred SourcegooglePreferred

The minister said at the time of giving the obituary comment to a private channel he didn't know that he was talking about the late American sports personality but soon made a detailed inquiry and gave the condolence news to news channels and newspapers, which were deliberately not given the due prominence. 

On Saturday, the minister made a goof up and called the late boxer "the pride of Kerala, who had won gold medals for the state."

"I just learned that Mohammed Ali breathed his last in America. He was a great sportsman of Kerala. By winning a gold medal in sports, he flagged the fame of Kerala sky-high," said Kerala Sports Minister E P Jayarajan in a telephonic condolence message conveyed to Manorama News.

EP Jayarajan's Facebook post in Malayalam: