Thiruvananthapuram, Sep 7 (PTI) BJP Keralam president Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Monday condemned the registration of a case against journalist Aparna Kurup, alleging that the UDF government had surrendered to religious fundamentalists.
Chandrasekhar said the journalist had faced death threats and cyber attacks for speaking against Sunni Islamic scholar Kanthapuram A P Aboobacker Musliyar’s remarks on women, but instead of taking action against those responsible, a case was registered against her.
In a statement, he alleged that the move was evidence of the Congress-led UDF government’s “surrender to religious fundamentalist forces”.
“While Rahul Gandhi speaks at length about women’s rights and equality on the one hand, the Congress government in Keralam is registering a case against a journalist who raised her voice for women’s rights,” Chandrasekhar said.
He alleged that the action against Kurup amounted to a violation of her right to freedom of expression guaranteed under Article 19 of the Constitution.
Chandrasekhar alleged that the Home department had halted further action in cases registered against activists of religious fundamentalist organisations who had allegedly threatened Kurup.
The BJP leader claimed that the government had frozen action against a person accused of threatening the journalist due to pressure from organisations such as the Muslim League and Jamaat-e-Islami.
“When a case was registered against the person who threatened the journalist, Muslim League MLAs publicly opposed the action, and the Home department withdrew it out of fear of them,” he alleged.
“Keralam is witnessing such actions reminiscent of Taliban rule today,” Chandrasekhar alleged.
He criticised the Congress and its leaders, saying they spoke about press freedom and women’s safety but had not come forward to support the journalist, who allegedly faced death threats.
“The fact that such a move came from the very government that should provide protection to the journalist is a serious betrayal,” he said.
Chandrasekhar said the Home department’s decision to register a case against the woman journalist for expressing her opinion and Kanthapuram’s alleged opposition to women’s rights reflected the same policy.
“The people of Keralam did not give the Congress the mandate to govern Keralam based on Sharia laws,” he said.
The BJP leader alleged that the Congress government was pushing Keralam towards “the complete control of religious fundamentalist organisations” and grave danger.
“Such governance, which has completely surrendered before religious fundamentalist organisations, will push the security of Keralam and democratic values towards collapse,” Chandrasekhar said. PTI TGB SSK
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