Kerala police have registered a case against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader P C George for allegedly making anti-Muslim statements during a TV debate sparking widespread condemnation and calls for his arrest.
The Erattupetta police registered the case on Saturday, January 11, after the delegation of the Muslim Youth League Municipal Committee had submitted a written complaint. They accused George of making provocative statements that could incite religious hatred and disturb public order.
The Welfare Party of India filed another 50 complaints while additional complaints were filed by SDPI cadres in other districts.
During a debate on Janam TV, George uttered blatantly communal statements wherein he called Muslims in India “communal by default people” and suggested “they do not have patriotism for this country”. The comments were seen not only as hostile but also generalised to the entire Muslim population triggering immediate legal and political repercussions.
He said, “As I am sitting Erattupetta let me say it. Here out of the total population of 40,000 people, 38,600 are Muslims. In this world, there are no such communal forces which have no conscience like you. Do you have a conscience? Do you have a soft approach towards people from different faiths? It is important that you also accept to learn the diversity that we display.”
“Are we saying that any Muslims should be put to death? If you are a Muslim, you are communal by default. It’s become like that. You do not want India, but Pakistan. Go to Pakistan,” he added.
The police have charged George under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
In response to the mounting criticism, George issued a conditional apology on his Facebook account, attempting to distinguish between his criticism of “extremists” and the entire Muslim community of India. “As a reminder of the provocation in the channel discussion, I politely apologized for the mistake I made. I called the terrorists to the other people who come and abuse under that post” he wrote.
BJP senior leaders, including Prakash Javeedkaar, have come out in support of George terming the police case as a “political vendetta” by the ruling LDF government. They claim that George’s intention was not to offend the entire community but to “fight extremism”.
“FIR against PC George is political vendetta by LDF government, which doesn’t say a word against Hamas and admits PDF followers into their fold. UDF is also guilty of appeasement of extremist politics. It never appreciated ban on PDF or condemned Hamas. PC George has already clarified that his intention was to express opposition to extremism & not to target any community Kerala stands firmly against extremism,” Javeedkaar wrote on X.
This is not the first time the 78-year-old leader has been in a controversy regarding the use of hate speech. Earlier in April 2022, he was booked for similar inflammatory speeches at the Ananthapuri Hindu Maha Sammelanam.
