Thiruvananthapuram, Mar 24 (PTI) Kerala CEO Rathan U Kelkar on Tuesday said they received a legal opinion over the allegations of “Hindu MLA” remark made by BJP candidate B Gopalakrishnan and will send a report in this regard to the ECI soon.
Further actions will be taken in accordance with the guidance of the Commission, he told reporters here.
The CEO said they received the legal opinion from the standing counsel on Monday.
However, the official was reluctant to comment anything further on the possible actions to be taken against the candidate over the controversial remarks.
“Based on the legal opinion, we will send a report to the ECI seeking their guidance. Whatever action to be taken will depend on the guidance from the Commission,” Kelkar said.
The controversy relates to a campaign video in which senior BJP leader and party candidate Gopalakrishnan allegedly claimed that the Guruvayur constituency had not elected a Hindu MLA for nearly five decades and accused both the Left and Congress-led fronts of not fielding candidates from the community.
The CPI(M) and the Congress vehemently criticised the remarks and lodged a complaint against him with the ECI.
Based on the intervention of the ECI, the Guruvayur police had registered a case against Gopalakrishnan under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Representation of the People Act.
However, BJP state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Monday defended Gopalakrishnan over his alleged controversial remarks, questioning how his statement could be termed as hate speech.
He had said Gopalakrishnan had not spoken against anyone and was only referring to the need for a “believer MLA” in a constituency like Guruvayur in the backdrop of issues faced by devotees. PTI LGK KH
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