Kerala Minister MM Mani lauds pepper spray attack on activist Bindhu Ammini
Kerala’s Minister for Power MM Mani, who often finds himself in the eye of controversies, has mocked the pepper spray attack on activist Bindhu Ammini and suggested that she deserved it.
Bindhu Ammini, one of the two women who entered Sabarimala temple last season, had reached Kochi on Tuesday with ‘Right to Pray’ activist Trupti Desai, seeking police protection to reach Sabarimala temple. While she was at the Kochi Police Commissioner’s office, she was attacked with pepper spray by a member of the ‘Hindu Helpline’.
Just hours after Bindhu Ammini was attacked, Kerala Minister MM Mani wrote on Facebook, “Pathanjali’s chilli powder is best.”
In another post, calling Tuesday’s incidents a “Sangh Parivar drama” titled ‘Trupti 2019’, he wrote, ‘‘What a good script! What a good chilli spray which gives cooling to one's eyes and mind.”
The minister has received flak from different quarters for his remarks.
Congress MLA VT Balram condemned the statement and said that this shows Pinarayi Vijayan government’s stance on women empowerment and renaissance.
“The Pinarayi government’s official stance is that Supreme Court order allowing Sabarimala temple women entry is not stayed. But the government’s stand is also that those women who come to Sabarimala believing this, will not be given police protection unlike last time. That is the government’s convenience. But the real status of Pinarayi government’s women empowerment and renaissance has been reduced to a minister mocking the attack on a woman on the streets...,” wrote VT Balram.
Various journalists also came out condemning MM Mani’s statement “You are a minister and not some guy sitting on the streets passing lewd remarks on women. You must remember that there is only two more years for the government to complete its term. And don’t forget that we women also come to vote,” wrote journalist Shahina Nafeesa.
Journalist Sindhu Sooryakumar asked on Facebook what the difference was between Sangh Parivar mocking Bindhu Ammini and what the Kerala minister was doing.
Meanwhile, Devaswom Board Minister Kadakampally Surendran alleged that there is a conspiracy behind Trupti’s Kerala visit on Tuesday. “She came from Maharashtra which is a stronghold of RSS and BJP. When she reached Kochi airport during early morning, only one Kerala media knew about this and that was ‘Janam tv’ - which is inclined to right wing. There is a conspiracy behind this,” the minister said.
Trupti Desai and her team left Kerala on Tuesday night after the police said they will not be able to provide protection. The team had faced severe opposition from various right-wing groups including those who sat in protest outside the Kochi Commissioner’s office.
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