KOCHI: The Kerala police on Wednesday filed a case against BJP state chief P S Sreedharan Pillai for making anti-Islam remarks during an election campaign meeting in Attingal Lok Sabha constituency on April 14. The Kerala Chief Electoral Officer recommended "appropriate action" against Pillai who had said that Muslims can be identified by "removing their clothes."
"The dead bodies...if they are Islam then there will be a few signs... if only you remove the dresses only then it can be found out... so after doing all that, we should come back is what they say," Pillai had said, according to Meena's report to the poll body.
The lawyer-turned-politician made these remarks during the poll campaign meeting organised for BJP candidate Sobha Surendran.
In his report to the Election Commission, Kerala Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Teeka Ram Meena said Pillai made the remarks while countering the comments of Congress president Rahul Gandhi, CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on the number of people killed during the Balakot air strike.
A petition seeking a directive to the Election Commission to take action against Pillai was filed by CPM leader V Sivankutty, who is in charge of the LDF's election campaign in the constituency.
Attingal police has booked the leader under Section 153 (Wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot), 153A (Promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, etc) and 153B (Imputations, assertions prejudicial to national integration) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
CEO Teeka Ram Meena, in his report dated April 16, also said that no permission was taken for the BJP meeting and a complaint has been registered in the Attingal police station in Thiruvananthapuram district.
"It appears prima facie a case of violation of Section 123(3A) and Section 125 of the Representations of People Act, 1951. Accordingly, appropriate action may be taken in the matter," Meena said in his report sent to Deputy Election Commissioner Sudeep Jain.
On Wednesday, the CEO had informed the High Court that strong action would be taken against Pillai in the case.
The court disposed of the petition in the light of the submissions made by the Election Commission.
(With PTI inputs)