Thiruvananthapuram, June 4: "I don't have to be what you want me to be," Muhammad Ali had said.

But, it seems, Kerala sports minister E.P. Jayarajan wasn't listening. Today, he described the American legend as a Kerala sporting great who had won the state "international fame".

"I came to know only now that Muhammad Ali has died in America," the CPM worthy told private news channel Manorama News, giving his "reaction" to news of Ali's death.

"He was a great figure in Kerala's sports scene. He secured a gold medal in sports and brought international fame to Kerala. I hereby convey the condolences of Kerala and Kerala sports."

Jayarajan's gaffe had the social media rolling with laughter, though some users feared for the future of sports in Kerala with such a minister in charge.

"Lucky he didn't say Ali had played a major role in strengthening the party (CPM) in Kannur (district)," one of the messages sneered.

Jayarajan is a party satrap from Kannur district and a confidant of chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan. In last month's Assembly polls, he won from the district's Mattannur constituency by an impressive 42,891 votes.

The minister was formerly the general manager of the party's Malayalam mouthpiece, Deshabhimani.

One troll targeted Jayarajan by punning on the trawling ban that is enforced in the state for two months every year, from mid-June to mid-August.

"Trolling ('trawling' and 'trolling' are spelt the same in Malayalam) ban to be effective in Kerala from today as the government has found it impossible to handle the trolling of Jayarajan by trolls following his remarks on Ali," went the post.