A lawyer Today (April 23rd) moved the Kerala High Court alleging that certain pamphlets distributed by the Left Democratic Front (LDF) seeking votes in the Lok Sabha Elections 2024 seek to polarise voters on the basis of religion.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!
Kerala: Advocate Sebin Thomas approached the Kerala High Court with allegations that the Left Democratic Front (LDF) distributed pamphlets in the Ernakulam constituency that could potentially polarize voters based on religious affiliations. These pamphlets, according to the petition, were targeted to influence Muslim voters in favor of the LDF for the upcoming 2024 Lok Sabha Elections.
During the court session presided by Justice N Nagaresh, the urgency of the interim request to halt the distribution of the pamphlets was debated. Given that the elections are imminent, occurring this Friday, April 26, the court deemed the request impractical at this stage. Nonetheless, directives were issued to the representatives of the Election Commission of India (ECI) and the Chief Electoral Officer of Kerala to gather further instructions on the matter.
The contentious pamphlet, titled “ഹൈബി ഇടനോട് 25 ചോദ്യങ്ങൾ” (25 questions for Hibi Eden), featured a series of questions for Hibi Eden, the Congress Lok Sabha member and UDF candidate. The petitioner highlighted two specific questions, numbered 24 and 25, which he argued were crafted to sway Muslim voters by framing political actions against their community.
Question 24 queried,
“Did Hibi Eden vote against the Citizenship Amendment Act introduced by the Bharatiya Janata Party in order to exclude Muslims? If not, is Eden not letting down the minorities that the Sangh Parivar is targeting?”
Meanwhile, Question 25 asked,
“When the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, which targets Muslims and allows the detention of citizens under suspicion of terrorism without any judicial process, was introduced in Parliament, did Hibi Eden vote against it?”
Both questions, translated from Malayalam, were flagged by Thomas as attempts to polarize the electorate.
Thomas’s petition accused these pamphlets of violating Section 123(3A) of the Representation of People Act, 1951, through what he termed as hate speech. He argued that these actions not only polarize but also misinform, as they claim the government of India has enacted laws specifically targeting Muslims, which he states is untrue.
The petition expressed strong disapproval of these tactics, describing them as detrimental to social harmony and potentially inciting fear and hatred across religious divides in India. Thomas emphasized the significant impact such actions could have in Kerala, given its diverse religious demographic, with Muslims being the second-largest religious community.
Despite previous appeals to the ECI and the Chief Electoral Officer of Kerala, Thomas lamented the lack of responsive action, prompting his recourse to the High Court. He is seeking a directive for the ECI and the Chief Electoral Officer to expedite the handling of his complaints and has proposed delaying the publication of election results until these issues are resolved.
The hearing is set to continue on Thursday, April 25, just one day before Kerala goes to the polls.
Click Here to Read Previous Reports on Lok Sabha Elections 2024
FOLLOW US ON YOUTUBE FOR MORE LEGAL UPDATES
