A case has been filed against Union Minister of State Rajeev Chandrasekhar for purportedly making statements that promoted enmity among various groups.
Kerala police independently registered an FIR in connection with the minister's recent social media statements regarding the Kochi blasts and a Hamas leader's virtual address at an event organized by an Islamist group in Malappuram district.
An FIR has been lodged against the minister, citing sections 153A of the IPC (pertaining to promoting enmity between different groups based on religion, race, place of birth, residence) and section 120 (o) of the Kerala Police Act (related to causing nuisance and violating public order), reported PTI.
Following the news of bomb blasts at a religious gathering of Jehovah's Witnesses in Kalamassery, Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology, Chandrasekhar posted criticisms of Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan on the social media platform X.
What did MoS Rajeev Chandrasekhar say?
"Dirty shameless appeasement politics by a discredited CM (and HM) @pinarayivijayan besieged by corruption charges. Sitting in Delhi and protesting against Israel, when in Kerala open calls by Terrorist Hamas for Jihad is causing attacks and bomb blasts on innocent Christians," he had said.
Following this, a verbal duel took place on Monday between the CM and Chandrasekhar with the BJP leader calling Vijayan a "liar" and he in turn lashing out and terming the MoS "extremely venomous".
The CM also said that if anyone makes statements which are in violation of the law, irrespective of whether they are central or state ministers, cases would be registered against them.
The blasts were set off at a convention centre in Kalamassery near Kochi where a prayer meeting of the Jehovah's Witnesses -- a Christian religious group that originated in the US in the 19th century -- was held on Sunday.
A few hours after that, Martin, who claimed to be an estranged member of Jehovah's Witnesses, surrendered before police in Thrissur district of the state, saying that he carried out the multiple blasts.
Initially, one woman had died and 60 were injured, six of them critically, in the blasts.
Subsequently, one of the six critically wounded -- a 53-year-old woman -- succumbed to her injuries.
By Monday morning, the death toll rose to three with the death of a 12-year-old girl who had suffered 95 per cent burns in the incident.
