The anti-CAA protests have completely unravelled in the past few days with leftists like Shehla Rashid essentially reducing the protests to a Hindu-Muslim issue. The bigotry of the anti-CAA protestors was out in full swing when controversial Tamil orator and Congress leader Nellai Kannan gave a clarion call for assassinating PM Modi and Amit Shah at PFI political wing meeting.
In a welcome move, Kannan has been arrested and like every other petty criminal, he complained of health issues when he got to know about his impending arrest.
The anti-CAA protest meeting where Kannan made the highly provocative remarks was organised by the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI)- which has been already facing widespread criticism for fomenting violence against the Citizenship Amendment Act. SDPI is the political wing of the Popular Front of India (PFI), an Islamist organisation whose activists have joined global Islamic terror organisations in the past, and which has also played a significant role in the anti-CAA violence.
Kannan’s bigoted comments have taken the lowly discourse against the CAA to a new lower level. He said, “There is one guy called Amit Shah. (Modi) is the Prime Minister but (Amit Shah) is his brains. If Amit Shah’s business is over then (Modi’s) business is over. Leave that be to one side.”
Looking at the Muslim dignitaries at the stage, he added, “But none of you are finishing it. Let that be to one side. I keep thinking you all will do something.” His discourse got only worse as he went ahead, and also said that he was “shocked as to why Muslims have not yet killed the Prime Minister and Home Minister…”
In addition to this, he made sexist remarks about Union Minister Smriti Irani and spoke about former Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi and allegations of sexual harassment against him.
After complaints by the BJP and AIADMK, Kannan was whisked away by a police team in Perambalur district. According to the Times of India, he was arrested from a guest house in Perambalur.
From there, he was to be taken to the Trichy Government Hospital to confirm if he was fit to travel before being produced before a judicial magistrate.
He was booked under sections 504 [Intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace], 505(1)(b) [with intent to cause, or which is likely to cause, fear or alarm to the public, or to any section of the public whereby any person may be induced to commit an offence against the State or against the public tranquillity], and 505 (2) [statements which create or promote enmity, hatred or ill-will between classes] of the Indian Penal Code.
The arrest of Kannan is a welcome move and the government must move to ban PFI whose only goal is to destabilise India by spreading terror.