North Indian speaker booked for ‘provocative speech’ in Udupi

North Indian speaker booked for ‘provocative speech’ in Udupi

Mangalore Today News Network

Udupi, January 7, 2025: The Udupi police have booked Meenakshi Sehrawat, a speaker from North India, on charges of making a provocative speech at a programme held in Poornaprajnya auditorium in Udupi on Saturday.

Govindaraju, Administrative Manager of Admaru Mutt, has been named second accused for organising the programme.

In the complaint, B.E. Punith Kumar, Police Sub Inspector (Law and Order) of Udupi city police station, alleged that Ms. Sehrawat was speaking on “Bangla Patha” topic in Hindi at the “Vishwarpanam” programme. In the speech, she mentioned that if children are not properly informed about history, then girls will fall in traps of ‘Asifs’ and convert into ‘Asifas’. She also said that Mahatma Gandhi cannot be called the ‘Father of the Nation’ as he supported Mohammed Ali Jinnah in creating Pakistan. To favour 20% of the population, Mahatma Gandhi favoured a ban on Shiva Bhavani poem based on Shivaji Maharaj. She added that Vande Mataram was banned and Gandhi advocated the principle of non-violence or Ahimsa Paramodharma to weaken Hindus, the Police Sub Inspector alleged.

The speaker spoke in a manner that fueled differences among communities by creating unrest in society and by being provocative, he alleged.

His complaint was registered for offences punishable under Sections 353 (2) and 3 (5) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.