THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: BJP Kerala president Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Monday defended the party's Guruvayur candidate for the April 9 Assembly polls B Gopalakrishnan over his alleged controversial "Hindu MLA" remarks, questioning how his statement could be termed as hate speech.
He said Gopalakrishnan had not spoken against anyone and was only referring to the need for a "believer MLA" in a constituency like Guruvayur in the backdrop of issues faced by devotees.
"Has he not said that a believer MLA is needed. How does that become hate speech," Chandrasekhar asked while talking to reporters here.
Defending Gopalakrishnan, Chandrasekhar said he just asked people whether a believer MLA is needed or not in the wake of the Sabarimala gold loss incident and the reported missing of money from Guruvayur Sree Krishna Temple.
"What is wrong with that question. As per my understanding, he just said it would be good if the constituency gets a believer MLA," the BJP state chief said.
He also asked whether a person from a different religion can become a people's representative in Vatican or a Hindu can assume such a position in Mecca.
"Gopalakrishnan also asked the same thing. Don't be intolerant like this to such questions," Chandrasekhar said adding that discussion should happen in such manners.
His remarks came a day after the Guruvayur police had registered a case against Gopalakrishnan, a senior BJP leader, over his alleged communal remarks in a campaign video related to the upcoming Assembly polls.
The case was registered based on a complaint by the Returning Officer of the Guruvayur constituency, police said.
He has been booked under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Representation of the People Act.
The ruling CPI(M) and the opposition Congress have approached the Election Commission seeking action against the BJP leader.
The Congress-affiliated Kerala Students' Union (KSU) had also moved the High Court and lodged a police complaint demanding stringent action against the remarks, which allegedly had communal overtones.
The controversy relates to a campaign video in which Gopalakrishnan allegedly claimed that the Guruvayur constituency had not elected a "Hindu MLA" for nearly five decades and accused both the Left and Congress-led fronts of not fielding candidates from the community.