Leftist, Secular Women Like Rape: Malayali Right-Wing Ideologue’s Jantar Mantar Remarks Spark Outrage

Thiruvananthapuram: Right-wing political observer T G Mohandas has come under the fire for his comments on Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) led protest in Delhi's Jantar Mantar this month. Mohandas, a former head of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s State intellectual cell, posted a video of himself saying he “would have shot” the protesters at Jantar Mantar if he were in control. The video was posted on his YouTube channel Pathrika on Sunday.

In a 30-minute video, Mohandas speaks at length about how he would have tackled the student protests by the CJP and other major Opposition outfits against the NEET exam irregularities.

“The crowd would be asked to disperse,” Mohandas says in the video. “The announcement would be made three times through public address systems. Then, there would be firing. People will run in a chaotic and hurried manner. Some people will die, others will get injured.”

“Within four hours, the situation will be under control. The bodies will be moved to hospital.”

In another video posted later, Mohandas says that “Police should be withdrawn from the area, and it should be left to the protesters. Rapes will happen, mass rapes…there are girls who like rape…there are people who like rapes, especially, leftist, secular, democratic, proletarian class of people…if someone dies because of this, they will get a martyr…When mass rapes happen, there won't be any complaints, because these are the people who like rape.”

Public Response

The pro-CPI student outfit AISF on Monday lodged a police complaint against right-wing political observer T G Mohandas, alleging that his remarks on the recent student agitation in Delhi over NEET question paper leak, amounted to inciting violence and warranted criminal action against him. In a complaint submitted to the State Police Chief, the All India Students' Federation (AISF) alleged that Mohandas had called for student protesters to be "shot dead", amounting to an appeal for violence and mass killing.

AISF alleged that such remarks could not be treated as an expression of political opinion, but amounted to a direct challenge to constitutional values, the rule of law and the democratic right to peaceful protest.

According to the complaint, publicly advocating the use of state force to open fire on protesting students, with the possibility of deaths and grievous injuries, was an extremely dangerous statement that promoted violence, undermined the value of human life and had the potential to create fear and social unrest.

It further alleged that, since the remarks were circulated through digital media, they could spread rapidly, encourage violent thinking and promote lawlessness if left unchecked.

It also sought the registration of a criminal case against Mohandas under all applicable legal provisions and called for an investigation about the YouTube channel that carried the remarks, the source of the video, digital records and its circulation across social media platforms.

In a separate statement, the AISF state executive alleged that Mohandas' remarks reflected an ideology that rejected constitutional values, democratic rights and the principles of Kerala's social reform movement.

The outfit also alleged that the remarks were an expression of a fascist mindset aimed at suppressing peaceful democratic protests through violence, while portraying protesting students in a poor light, insulting thousands of young demonstrators and fostering social hatred.

Meanwhile, former Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan also flayed Mohandas for his remarks and demanded action against him.

Pinarayi Vijayan made a scathing attack against Mohandas and described the right-wing political commentator's remarks as a "planned attempt" by Sangh Parivar forces to spread hatred even after the protests had ended.

Without naming, Vijayan also accused a BJP MP from Telangana of calling for the shooting of students who protested against the alleged NEET question paper leak. In a Facebook post, Vijayan claimed that such statements reflected the Sangh Parivar's mindset of "eliminating dissent".

RSS Distances Itself From Mohandas

The complaint urged police to conduct a scientific examination of the complete video and audio recordings, verify the authenticity and content of the remarks, and investigate whether they amounted to incitement of violence, loss of life or disturbance of public order.

Meanwhile, the RSS on Tuesday condemned the controversial remarks made by right-wing political observer T G Mohandas on the recent students' agitation in New Delhi, saying they were his "personal thoughts" and deserved to be denounced.

In a statement, senior RSS functionary K B Sreekumar clarified that Mohandas was not an RSS office-bearer at any level.

"T G Mohandas's comments on the recent protest are his personal thoughts. He is not an RSS official at any level. RSS doesn't agree with his views and they should be condemned in every highest possible manner," Sreekumar said.