Alappuzha (Kerala) | The Alappuzha District Collector, also the District Election Officer, on Thursday directed the police to register a case over derogatory and defamatory remarks against Kayamkulam LDF candidate U Prathibha for the April 9 Assembly polls, citing a violation of the Model Code of Conduct, officials said.
Irshad, a local IUML leader and the Congress-led UDF convener in Kayamkulam, allegedly made objectionable remarks about Prathibha at a campaign event, claiming she was "selling her eloquence and beauty" to secure a third consecutive win.
He was soon suspended by the party and removed from the UDF's election charge in Kayamkulam.
According to a government statement, the action followed scrutiny of media reports and social media posts related to the incident by the Media Certification and Monitoring Committee (MCMC), which referred the matter to the district-level committee on the Model Code of Conduct.
A screening committee meeting, chaired by Inbasekhar K, the District Collector, examined the social media clips and found a prima facie violation of the code, the statement said.
Based on this, the police have been directed to register a case under various provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, it said.
The district collector has recommended action under sections related to outraging the modesty of a woman, making baseless statements in connection with elections, issuing misleading statements that could influence election results, and defamation, it added.
Prathibha has also filed a complaint at the Kayamkulam police station, and a case will be registered soon, officials said.
Meanwhile, the Leader of the Opposition in the Kerala Assembly, V D Satheesan, said the remarks were "highly derogatory" and should not have been made by a politician against a woman leader.
"But within hours, that leader was removed from the party. I appreciate the IUML leadership. It was a wrong act, and no one supported it," he said.
However, he alleged that when similar derogatory remarks were made in the past against UDF leader Remya Haridas by CPI(M) Polit Bureau member A Vijayaraghavan, no action was taken.
He also claimed that similar statements were made by Left leaders against other women politicians, including K K Rema, Veena S Nair, and Achu Oommen, the daughter of former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, and that no action was taken.
"We are not like them. We took action within hours," he said, adding that the issue would not affect the UDF's prospects.
