Over a dozen leaders from Lakshadweep have quit the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday protesting against the sedition charges slapped on island-based filmmaker Aisha Sultana for her remarks against the administrator during a TV debate last week.
During a debate in one of the Malayalam channels, Sultana had called the union territory administrator Praful Khoda Patel a bio-weapon launched by the Union government and later island BJP president C Abdul Khadar Haji had filed a police compliant against her. The case was registered by Kavaratti Police under Sections 121 A (sedition) and 153 (B) (assertions against national integration) of the Indian Penal Code and she was asked to appear before the police on June 20.
The FIR said the accused generated hatred and opposition to the Union government by falsely and with ulterior motives stating that the government deployed a bio-weapon against the people of the island. Sultana is currently settled in Kochi.
Peeved leaders said the BJP president’s compliant was “false, unjustified and against the spirit of the island”. “You have filed a false and unjustified compliant against Sultana who pointed out undemocratic actions of the administrator. This will ruin her family and future and this is not in the right spirit of the island,” said one of them, Abdul Hameed Mullipuzha, general secretary of the Kavaratti unit
“We can’t go ahead like this. I am resigning from the party,” said B C Cheriya Koya, president of the Andrott unit. Earlier a section of party leaders had resigned and participated in the day-long fast observed by the people on June 7. But the BJP has underplayed these resignations. “Most of them had quit much early. They are raking up their resignations repeatedly to get attention. The party is intact in the island,” said national vice-president of the party A P Abdullah Kutty.
{{/usCountry}}“We can’t go ahead like this. I am resigning from the party,” said B C Cheriya Koya, president of the Andrott unit. Earlier a section of party leaders had resigned and participated in the day-long fast observed by the people on June 7. But the BJP has underplayed these resignations. “Most of them had quit much early. They are raking up their resignations repeatedly to get attention. The party is intact in the island,” said national vice-president of the party A P Abdullah Kutty.
{{/usCountry}}Sultana later defended her statement and said she will move the High Court against the police action. “I had used the word bio-weapon in one of the TV debates. I did not attack the country or the Union government. I was referring to some of the decisions of Patel which infuriated local people. Despite popular sentiment, he continues to antagonise people. As a local resident, I have every right to criticise him,” she said taking to Facebook to justify her position.
She said the BJP leader who filed a complaint against her had betrayed the land and spirit of islanders. Many film actors and others have extended support to her and deplored the local administration’s move. The Kerala government also said it will provide legal aid to her. The state assembly had passed a resolution unanimously two week ago seeking the recall of the administrator.
For over a month residents of the archipelago have been protesting against some of the decisions of the administrator saying they will affect the unique culture and tradition of the group of islands. They are up in arms against three draft regulations that propose to develop the island as a major tourist destination, goonda act and plan to restrict slaughtering of cattle. They also allege these regulations will destroy the islands’ character and identity since 97% of the islands are covered by forests and 95% of its Muslim population belong to the protected scheduled tribe category.