Kerala police book BJP’s Anil Antony for ‘promoting enmity’ between different groups in controversial post

Subsequently, Antony allegedly shared the post and commented on it, saying, “No bus rides without a burqa in northern Kerala.”

On Tuesday, his name was added to the FIR as an accused, the police said.

Antony, who is the BJP’s national secretary and spokesperson, has not reacted to the development.

The words in the video is unclear – all anyone can hear is a lot of shouting and screaming and bullying by a bunch of Burqa clad women.
The rest – Indeed for many of the @INCKerala @CPIMKerala and @kerala_iuml politicians in Kerala – Hamas is perceived as a bunch of freedom… https://t.co/G0rm5llxJQ

— Anil K Antony (Modiyude Kudumbam) (@anilkantony) October 27, 2023

Background on the issue

The original post shared by Antony were images and clippings of a protest by students and falsely claimed that Muslim women in Kerala were trying to force Hindu women to wear burqa. Some, including the BJP spokesperson, misconstrued the exchange in Malayalam between the passengers of a bus in the footage as calls to compel Hindu women to wear burqa.

Students from Khansa Women’s College for Advanced Studies in Kumbla, in the northern Kasargod region of Kerala, staged a protest on 21 October against a private bus that would not halt at the approved bus stop near their college.

The students, who were primarily Muslim girls dressed in burqas, obstructed the road to draw attention to how difficult it was for them to leave their educational institution after classes.

When South First contacted the Kumbla police then, they confirmed that the demonstration had no communal focus and was merely a spontaneous way for students to vent their anger against the bus operator.

The police also disclosed that a woman, who was probably Hindu, had complained to the girls about stopping the bus while many passengers were sitting inside it to reach their destinations.

In response, the girls asked her what her response would be if her daughter experienced the same thing. The incident came to an end there. However, it was given a different hue on social media.

Also read: Anil Antony slammed for fake video about Muslim women

Antony’s trigger finger

This is not Antony’s first time jumping the gun and commenting on matters without knowing the full story.

In another incident, he had posted on social media about a jawan who was assaulted and had PFI (the banned Popular Front of India) written on his back. He further commented on the state of safety in Kerala.

“A serving jawan was assaulted, his hands tied up, and PFI was paint written on his back by anti-social miscreants in Kollam, Kerala yesterday. Saddened and shocked that even our armed forces personnel who we owe much for their bravery and sacrifices find no safety in Kerala,” read his tweet.

However, the alleged attack turned out to be a false statement from the jawan. The soldier’s friend, who participated in the charade, claimed that he wanted to become famous and that was the reason behind the enactment.

Following the revelation of the truth, Muslim Youth League leader PK Firos sought legal action against the people who “purportedly spread the fake claim”, including Antony.

Refuting the charges, Antony said that a section of people were trying to use this one incident to whitewash a large anti-social, anti-national network, and their dubious activities — referring to the PFI.

Also read: Case under non-bailable sections against Rajeev Chandrasekhar

FIRs on BJP leaders

This action against Anil Antony follows another FIR against BJP leader and Union Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar.

He was booked for statements made on social media regarding the recent blasts near Kochi and an unrelated event organised by an Islamist group in Malappuram district in which a Hamas leader allegedly addressed the audience virtually.

Chandrasekhar was booked for offences under Sections 153 (want only giving provocation with intent to cause riot) and 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence) of the IPC and section 120 (o) (causing nuisance and violation of public order) of the Kerala Police Act.

According to the FIR against the Union minister on the complaint of a sub-inspector (SI) of Kochi City Cyber Cell of the police, Chandrasekhar posted statements and a video on his social media accounts with the “intention of disrupting the communal harmony” in Kerala and inciting violence.