Chennai: Following his appearance in a televised debate show hosted by a private news channel, the former IAS official R. Christodas Gandhi was booked on Wednesday on charges of outraging religious feelings and promoting enmity on religious grounds. The Hindu Munnani secretary Padmarajan had preferred a complaint with Chinthadripet Police stating that Christodas Gandhi had made a derogatory remark on Lord Rama while participating in the show.
Subsequently, a case under section 295A (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs), and 153A1(a) (promotes or attempts to promote, on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, caste or community or any other ground whatsoever, disharmony or feelings of enmity, hatred or ill-will between different religious, racial, language or regional groups or castes or communities) of the IPC was registered. Christodas Gandhi was said to have claimed on air that in a secular country one even had the right to slipper Ram.
Following the show which was telecast last week, the senior bureaucrat drew flak from social media users after his purported remarks. Miscreants circulated his contact number and residential address along with their posts. This was criticised by many, including writer Meena Kandasamy as a pressure tactic to force an apology out of the official by inciting the Hindu Munnani cadre to openly intimidate the retired official. Christodas Gandhi, in a statement, issued a clarification on his remark.
“I have never in the past or will I make in future any derogatory or abusive comments against any deity. All that I mentioned in the debate was that, in a secular country, atheists also have a place to express an opinion. And beyond that I don’t recall making any references to any deity or personality. In the interest of public peace, I have no hesitation in offering public apology if at all any of my utterances would have hurt religious sentiments of anyone. I only hope for a peaceful co-existence,” the statement read.
