‘Are they adopting Talibanism? ‘Satheesan hits back at BJP over action on journalist | India News

Kerala CM counters BJP over case against journalist

NEW DELHI: Kerala chief minister V D Satheesan on Wednesday rejected the BJP’s allegation that the UDF government was resorting to “Talibanism” by registering a case against a television journalist, dismissing the charge amid a political row over the action.Satheesan said the BJP itself had been filing cases against journalists across the country.“They are registering cases against journalists across the country. Are they adopting Talibanism?” he said, as cited by PTI.The chief minister, however, declined to divulge details of the case registered against television journalist Aparna Kurup over remarks she made while anchoring a debate on a television channel.The Kochi City Cyber Police registered a case against Kurup on Monday for allegedly hurting religious sentiments while anchoring a political debate on controversial anti-women remarks made by Sunni Islamic scholar Kanthapuram A P Aboobacker Musliyar.

BJP Kerala president Rajeev Chandrasekhar had condemned the registration of the case, alleging that the UDF government had “surrendered to religious fundamentalists”.“When a case was registered against the person who threatened the journalist, Muslim League MLAs publicly opposed the action, and the Home department withdrew it out of fear of them. Keralam is witnessing such actions reminiscent of Taliban rule today,” Chandrasekhar had alleged.Chandrasekhar said the journalist had faced death threats and cyberattacks after speaking out against Kanthapuram’s remarks on women. He alleged that instead of taking action against those responsible, the government had registered a case against her.