RMP leader Hariharan booked over sexist remarks against KK Shailaja, Manju Warrier

A police officer said Hariharan has been booked under IPC Sections 509 (insulting the modesty of a woman) and 153 (wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot).

“Investigation will begin today, and further proceedings will be decided after that,” he said.

Also Reads: RMP leader’s sexist remarks against CPI(M) leader KK Shailaja, actor Manju Warrier

Hariharan reacts

Reacting to the registration of the case, Hariharan, a central committee member of the Revolutionary Marxist Party (RMP), said he would deal with the case legally.

He, however, expressed doubt about whether the ruling CPI(M) was behind the attack on his house at Thenhippalam in nearby Malappuram district on Sunday night.

An unidentified gang, who came on a two-wheeler, hurled some explosives at the house at around 8.15 pm.

“I could not identify the persons as it was nighttime. In the afternoon also, a gang which came by car was seen roaming around the area,” Hariharan said on Monday.

When the media asked whether he believed that the attack on his house was the continuation of the ongoing controversy, he said the CPI(M) leadership had already made it clear the issue would not end with his expression of regret.

Such attacks are likely to continue in the coming days, the leader claimed.

Also Read: Vadakara campaign marred by cyberattack, bogus voting concerns

The remarks

Hariharan made the objectionable remark on Saturday night, 11 May, while speaking at a meeting in Vadakara in Kozhikode, which was inaugurated by the Leader of Opposition in the Assembly, VD Satheesan.

The event was organised in response to the ruling LDF’s charges that UDF workers had made a morphed video of Shailaja, who was a candidate in Vadakara in the recently concluded Lok Sabha polls.

As the remark sparked a huge political storm, his own party high command and the UDF openly criticised him and said Hariharan should not have made such objectionable comments against any woman.

Later, Hariharan came out with a Facebook post saying friends and journalists brought to his attention that he had made an “inappropriate” remark during the speech.

The senior leader, through the post, also expressed regret for his comment.

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