Thiruvananthapuram: State home minister Ramesh Chennithala has ordered a probe into the remarks allegedly made by right-wing political commentator T G Mohandas against those who protested in Jantar Mantar in Delhi demanding the resignation of Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the NEET examination paper leak.Chennithala has directed the cyber wing to investigate the matter. In a video posted on a You Tube channel on July 26, Mohandas allegedly described how he would have handled the protesters.Mohandas allegedly said in the video that if he had been in charge, he would have imposed a curfew, warned the crowd to disperse, and then opened fire on them, claiming that although some people would have been killed or permanently injured, the situation would have been brought under control within hours. In the same video, he also allegedly said that the protest “could lead to incidents of gang rape and that there would be no complaints against that since those attending the protest like rape and there are girls who enjoy being raped.”The comments invited severe criticism from different quarters, including students’ unions who raised complaints. In its complaint to the state police chief, the All India Students’ Federation (AISF), which also participated in the Jantar Mantar protest, alleged that Mohandas had called for student protesters to be “shot dead”, describing the remarks as an incitement to violence and mass killing.The RSS on Tuesday condemned the controversial remarks made by Mohandas, 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’ 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 the highest possible manner,” Sreekumar said. The Jantar Mantar protests sparked solidarity demonstrations across Kerala, where protesters were met with lathi charges and water cannons.
