Thiruvananthapuram: Several religious groups cutting across political affiliations on Monday met Kerala Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan to demand the recall of a class VII text book, which they allege tries to indoctrinate children with the communist ideology.

"All Muslim groups are united on this issue and we have only one demand that this text book has to be withdrawn. We have called for a public meeting at Kozhikode on July 5. If the government fails to act, we would announce a series of protests," said former minister and head of a 12-member Muslim organization P.K. Kunhalikutty here.

Earlier, top leaders of the Nair Service Society and various Churches also demanded the government must withdraw the text book.

The various religious groups are upset at a chapter in the textbook under heading "Life without religion". They allege the Communist-led state government is indoctrinating students with irreligious ideas and certain political beliefs.

The state government did not adhere to the customary publishing of the text book in the state gazette, which could have yielded it suggestions before accepting the revised version. IANS