Two held for ‘provocative sloganeering’ at PFI rally

‘Death threat’ to other communities provoked widespread public concern

An alleged call for violence against Hindu and Christian communities at a Popular Front of India (PFI) “Save the Republic” rally in Alappuzha on May 21 is perhaps the latest instance of incendiary rhetoric reaching an ominously shrill pitch in Kerala.

A viral video of a PFI worker shouldering a minor voicing slogans deemed by some quarters as a “death threat” to other communities provoked widespread public concern.

The police arrested two persons on the charge of promoting enmity between communities under Section 153 (A) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

They were identified as Ansar Najeeb, a resident of Erattupetta in Kottayam and PFI Alappuzha district president Navas Vandanam The police also booked the trio for outraging religious feelings (IPC 295A) and criminal intimidation (IPC 506).

The happening has raised the spectre of heightened communal tensions in the run-up to the Thrikkakkara Assembly election on May 31. The RSS-SDPI retaliatory killings in Alappuzha and Palakkad had also briefly threatened the public peace recently.

Of late, Kerala has witnessed certain politicians and social media influencers injecting dangerously divisive messages into the mainstream. Recently, the State police registered a hate speech case against Kerala Janapaksham (Secular) leader and former legislator P.C. George for allegedly propounding a conspiracy theory that Muslims were increasing their numbers in Kerala to disempower Hindus and Christians.

Some other sections had portrayed inter-faith unions between Muslims and other communities as “Love Jihad”.