In accordance with a recent directive from the Supreme Court regarding hate speeches, the Tamil Nadu government, led by the DMK, has granted authorization to prosecute K Annamalai, the state president of the BJP, and YouTuber Rajavel Nagarajan of Pesu Tamizha Pesu channel. This action is based on a complaint filed by self-styled “eco-warrior” and DMK propagandist Piyush Manush.
The news is out that sanction is given by the TN government to prosecute @annamalai_k avl . The pertinent question is did the governor @rajbhavan_tn give sanction to this or has the government done it using governors name or without his consent?! This will be tested in the courts… pic.twitter.com/xzoudYyjgd
— karthik gopinath (@karthikgnath) October 27, 2023
The DMK government has taken into account the opinion of the state public prosecutor, who has classified Annamalai’s speech as falling within the definition of ‘Hate Speech.’ It has now given permission to prosecute both Annamalai and Rajavel Nagarajan for allegedly causing fear, stirring hatred, or potentially inciting enmity between two religious communities.
Ahead of the Deepavali festival in 2022, Annamalai had mentioned about how Christian missionaries are targetting Hindu culture and festivals like Deepavali by lobbying against crackers.
Not many have the guts and honesty to openly take on the missionary mafia….
Annamali is fearless.. pic.twitter.com/boFQmr40IZ— Vishwatma 🇮🇳 (@HLKodo) October 22, 2022
Piyush Manush submitted a complaint to the Salem City Police Commissioner against Annamalai alleging “hate speech” against Christian missionaries. In his complaint, he alleged that during an interview on a YouTube channel, Annamalai made unfounded allegations and engaged in hate speech, suggesting that Christian missionaries receive foreign funds with the intent of undermining Hindu culture.
He called for appropriate action to be taken against Annamalai under Sections 153, 505 (3), 120 A of the Indian Penal Code, and 156(3), 200 of the Criminal Procedure Code but the police did not initiate an investigation into the case.
Subsequently, Manush filed a case in the Salem 4th Judicial Arbitration Court. The court, upon reviewing his plea, determined that permission should be sought from the Tamil Nadu government. Following this decision, Manush submitted a complaint to the Salem District Collector seeking authorization. The Collector of Salem forwarded the request to the state government. Public prosecutors, after reviewing this petition, have found grounds to initiate a case in line with the Supreme Court’s directives on hate speeches.
With the granted permission, the case in question is scheduled for a hearing in the Salem court on 4 November 2023.
Piyush Manush in an interview Senthilvel, a Dravidian Stockist YouTuber close to DMK regime claimed that it was an NGO having BJP members who had moved a petition in the Supreme Court for cracker ban.
However, the truth is that the (Indian Social Responsibility Network) which has many BJP functionaries had withdrawn its name from the petition. The original application moved by ISRN was limited to NCR only and that for a limited time during the COVID-19 pandemic amidst the repeated warnings of the rising number of cases. The initial request filed by ISRN pertained exclusively to the NCR (National Capital Region) and was time-limited, coinciding with the COVID-19 pandemic, amidst rising cases. Moreover, the plea was not moved by ISRN but by one of the functionaries in his personal capacity.
A plea about banning fire crackers filed by Shri Santosh Gupta who is a functionary of @ISRN is in his personal capacity! ISRN or it’s Governing Body has nothing to do with the plea. It is hereby made clear that ISRN as an organisation is not associated with this plea!
— Indian Social Responsibility Network (@ISRNnewdelhi) November 2, 2020
In an interview to OpIndia, Vinay Sahasrabuddhe who is the Vice Chairperson of ISRN stated that neither he nor BJP is associated with the NGO group anymore.
The National Green Tribunal had ordered a ban on crackers in 2020 based on a petition by one Chirag Jain and Shobit Shukla.
But even before that the main organization which has been lobbying against crackers is one Awaaz Foundation founded by one Sumaira Abdulali.
Aawaz emerged as the leading advocate against fireworks, collaborating with different state pollution control boards to establish an agency dedicated to testing the sound levels of fireworks. They also took the lead in advocating for a ban on fireworks.
It is this anti cracker lobby which used Delhi’s pollution to effect a ban on fireworks across India.
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