Thrissur CPI MLA P Balachandran apologised for his contentious remark on Lord Rama, Sita and Lakshmana, hours after the BJP filed a police complaint against him and his party distanced themselves from his remarks.
The MLA’s controversial post on social media said, “Ram was innocent, and as he was suffering from a plantar wart, he was not arrogant. Lakshman brought Porotta and meat one day, and Sita served it to the brothers. At that time, a deer came that way. Sita asked Ram to catch that deer and cook it for her.”
Although the post has been deleted, several screenshots of the content were circulated and criticized online.
BJP Thrissur district president K K Aneesh Kumar filed a police complaint against Balachandran, accusing him of hurting religious sentiments. According to agency reports, he demanded to book a case under section 153 of the Indian Penal Code against the MLA for wantonly giving provocation to cause a riot.
“I am a practising Hindu and a devotee of Lord Ram. Denigrating Lord Ram, Sita, and Lakshman Thrissur MLA P Balachandran has hurt my religious sentiments. this social media post is aimed at hurting religious sentiments and causing riot. I urge you to initiate action against the MLA for hurting religious sentiments and attempting to cause riot,” he said in a social media post.
“Only a Communist can use such derogatory words to denigrate the faith of Hindus. They have been trying for a long time to win the support of fundamentalists by disparaging the culture of the state. Let the people who elected this representative hang their heads in shame,” Kumar added.
Meanwhile, CPI officials distanced themselves from the controversy, with Thrissur district secretary K K Valsaraj describing Balachandran’s post as a mistake. He added that the MLA’s post did not reflect the party’s views.
Balachandran apologised for the post on Facebook following the furore.
“I had posted an old story in my FB page. I never intended to hurt anyone and the story was deleted within minutes. I regret posting that story,” he said in the post.
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