The Kerala High Court on Friday directed the Election Commission of India (ECI) to consider a representation filed against BJP leader B Gopalakrishnan for allegedly making communal remarks during a campaign in the Guruvayur constituency ahead of the upcoming Kerala Assembly elections.
When the petition against BJP candidate B Gopalakrishnan, who is contesting the upcoming state Assembly elections from the Guruvayur constituency, came up for hearing before the High Court on Friday, a single bench of Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas asked the ECI what action is taken when a candidate makes hate or communal remarks that cause harm to a community, society, and the country.
The court then asked the ECI’s counsel what the Commission proposes to do regarding the complaint. “What do you do when such instances occur?” the court asked.
“The returning officer has already filed a complaint, and an FIR has been registered. The video has also been removed from social media,” the counsel for the ECI said.
“The video has been removed, but what about the harm caused to the community, to society, and to the country?” the court observed.
The court eventually disposed of the plea after noting that the petitioner’s representation is pending consideration before the Chief Election Officer, and that the petitioner must first pursue a remedy before the ECI.
The court also directed that the ECI should decide the representation within two months.
“Since the representation has admittedly been received by the first respondent (Election Commission of India) and is pending consideration, I am of the view that the petition can be disposed of with a direction, without entering into the merits, especially since any person aggrieved by any alleged practice contrary to law has a remedy under the Representation of the People Act, 1951. Direction is issued to the first respondent to pass appropriate orders on the representation, at any rate within two months,” the court said.
Kerala Students’ Union (KSU) leader Gokul moved the High Court, alleging that BJP candidate B. Gopalakrishnan violated the provisions of the Representation of the People Act by making communal remarks.
Gopalakrishnan, who is also the state vice-president of the BJP, stirred controversy when he said that no Hindu MLA has been elected from Guruvayur—which houses the famous Sri Krishna temple—in the last 50 years, even though the constituency has a 48 percent Hindu population.
“A Hindu MLA—neither the Left nor the Right has fielded one. Guruvayur is an international pilgrimage centre—yet why isn’t there a Hindu MLA?” Gopalakrishnan said in a video shared on his social media platforms.
Gopalakrishnan has been booked under Section 192 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause a riot) and Section 125 (promoting enmity between classes in connection with elections) of the Representation of the People Act.