Advocate B Gopalakrishnan, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate from Kerala’s Guruvayur Assembly constituency, has been booked for making communal remarks. On Sunday, March 22, the Guruvayur Temple Station police filed a case against Gopalakrishnan for his statements in a campaign video about neither the LDF nor the UDF alliances fielding a Hindu candidate from the constituency.
“Why doesn’t Guruvayur, an international pilgrimage centre, have a Hindu MLA?” he had asked in the now-withdrawn video posted to his social media handles on March 20. “I have been called on by Guruvayurappan to rescue the land from this half-century-long imprisonment in the hands of temple looters and temple-opposers,” he went on to say in the video.
The remarks sparked widespread outrage. While the CPI(M) lodged a complaint with the Election Commission, the Congress’ student wing KSU filed a petition in the High Court. Following this, Kerala’s Chief Election Commissioner Ratan U Kelkar instructed the Thrissur District Collector Shikha Surendran to initiate action against Gopalakrishnan.
Gopalakrishnan did not, however, refrain from making communal and polarising statements even after the outrage that followed his March 20 video. He went on to reiterate his claims, asking, “Why don’t the Left or Right fronts field a Hindu MLA?” and alleging that neither fronts want development but want to “destroy Guruvayur”.
“Does Guruvayur have an MLA who can stand at the Guruvayur Temple and say that they believe in Guruvayurappan? Instead, there is the MLA who says lighting lamps is haram, or that the Guruvayur Temple is a myth,” he claimed. “I will raise Hindu issues, and I don’t care if I face charges for that,” he added.
It may be noted that the Guruvayur constituency has elected Muslim MLAs since 1967, belonging to both the LDF and UDF. The incumbent MLA, NK Akbar, is a member of the CPI(M). Prior to that, CPI(M)’s current Thrissur district secretary KV Abdul Khader represented the constituency for 10 years. Neither MLAs have made any communal remarks or hate speech targeting the Hindu community.
The BJP candidate has reportedly been booked under Section 123(3A) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, along with provisions of the Election Commission’s Model Code of Conduct.
Section 123(3A) says that the following shall be deemed as a corrupt practice: “The promotion of, or attempt to promote, feelings of enmity or hatred between different classes of the citizens of India on grounds of religion, race, caste, community, or language, by a candidate or his agent or any other person with the consent of a candidate or his election agent for the furtherance of the prospects of the election of that candidate or for prejudicially affecting the election of any candidate.”