Kollam (Keralam) [India], October 16 (ANI): Punalur Police in Kollam Rural have registered a case against former Keralam Director General of Police and BJP leader R Sreelekha over controversial remarks against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.
The case has been registered under Section 192 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). According to the FIR, Sreelekha attempted to incite a riot in society.
The controversy arose after Sreelekha, in a speech in Kollam, criticised Gandhi’s participation in a protest in Delhi and compared his behaviour to that of a person under the influence of drugs.
Sreelekha said, “Rahul Gandhi describes the protest in Delhi as a ‘thandavam’. But a thandavam is something on an entirely different level. It is like the frantic behaviour of someone who has consumed excessive amounts of drugs without any planning or control. That is the kind of spectacle he is putting on there…Does the Congress have no shame in organising a protest alongside what she described as ‘cockroaches’, while holding up the Constitution of India?.”
Reacting to the controversy, Keralam Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala said political disagreement was legitimate but describing Gandhi’s “democratic protest in Delhi as a ‘drug-induced tandava'” was “not political criticism.” He said that Sreelekha should withdraw the remark and apologise.
“It is a personal insinuation unbecoming of someone who has held the office of DGP. It also trivialises Tandava, a sacred expression associated with Lord Shiva’s cosmic dance, by dragging it into a crude political insult. Rahul Gandhi ji can be challenged on his politics, positions, and arguments. But replacing political debate with baseless personal insinuations lowers the standard of public discourse, ” he said on X.
Speaking to reporters, Chennithala has also condemned Sreelekha’s remarks, demanding that she withdraw her statements and apologise.
He also questioned the appropriateness of a former senior police officer making such comments.
Speaking to reporters in Thiruvananthapuram, Chennithala said, “Every media professional and the public in Kerala know about this. My question is, what has happened to these people? A person who once served as the DGP speaking in this manner—is it appropriate? People themselves must think about what happens to those who have held such high positions after they retire. If they want to protect their political interests, they are free to do so. But they must also remember the positions they once held and the responsibility that came with them. If the Kerala Police were to fabricate something, would it not be obvious to everyone? Is that how the police operate?” (ANI)
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