Kerala Youth Cong Cleanses Venue Where Dalit MLA Protested

The MLA filed a complained alleging that Youth Congress insulted her using caste.

Dalit woman MLA Geetha Gopi was on a sit-in protest in Thrissur demanding repair of a road.

(Photo Courtesy: The News Minute) 

The Youth Congress in Thrissur district has landed in controversy over the protest against MLA Geetha Gopi of Communist Party of India (CPI) by ‘purifying’ the spot she sat with cow dung water. The MLA, who belongs to Scheduled Caste community, filed a complained alleging that Youth Congress insulted her using caste.

Geetha Gopi, MLA of Naatika in Thrissur, had conducted a sit-in protest in front of the Mini Civil station at Cherpu on Saturday, 27 July. The controversial incident happened soon after the MLA left the spot. Members of Youth Congress carried cow dung water in a bucket and poured it at the spot where the MLA sat and ‘cleansed’ it using a broom.

What We Know

The MLA lodged a complaint about the incident to Cherpu Circle Inspector. In the complaint, the MLA states that action should be taken against those who insulted her using caste.

“Even after a woman from Scheduled Caste became a member of Legislative Assembly, these people insult me using my caste. This is also an insult to Kerala which is often quoted as a completely literate state,”

Geeta Gopi, MLA 

The MLA also states that she conducted the sit-in protest in front of the Mini Civil Station as the Public Works Department (PWD) officials were not taking necessary action to rectify the issues of Cherpu-Thriprayar road.

MLA Geetha Gopi(Photo Courtesy: The News Minute) 

Police Action Taken

The Cherpu police on Sunday registered a case based on the complaint but no arrests have been made yet.

Case has been registered under Sections 143 (Unlawful assembly), 147(Rioting), 149 (Every member of unlawful assembly guilty of offence committed in prosecution of common object) of Indian Penal Code and as per Section 3 (1) (u) (by words either written or spoken or by signs or by visible representation or otherwise promotes or attempts to promote feelings of enmity, hatred or ill-will against members of the Scheduled Castes or the Scheduled Tribes) of SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

Local people in the area had blocked the MLA on the previous day demanding that repair work on the road be started urgently. It was following this that Geetha Gopi conducted a sit-in protest asking PWD to do the work on a war footing.

Meanwhile, the Youth Congress stated that the MLA conducted the sit-in protest to cover up her shame on people blocking her, reports Manorama News. AK Balan, Minister for Welfare of Scheduled Castes, said that strict action will be taken against the people who insulted the MLA.

(Published in an arrangement with The News Minute)