Senior Kerala politician P C George was taken into custody by police on Sunday for his alleged controversial remarks against Muslims.
Police said cops from the Fort police station here took George into custody from his residence in Erattupetta in Kottayam district in the early hours on Sunday.
Police on Saturday had registered a case against George alleging that his speech at a conclave here promoted religious hatred.
Police at the Fort police station took suo motu action against the former legislator on the directions of the state police chief Anil Kant.
"A case has been registered against the former MLA under section 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups) of the Indian Penal Code," a senior police official told PTI.
The FIR stated the accused, during an event here, made a speech promoting enmity between religious groups.
George, who was the chief whip of the earlier ruling party, had sparked off a controversy by asking non-Muslims in Kerala to avoid restaurants run by the community.
Addressing a programme organised as part of the ongoing Ananthapuri Hindu Maha Sammelan on 29 April, 2022, the former Kerala Congress leader had alleged that tea laced with "drops causing impotence" were sold in Muslim-run restaurants to turn people "infertile" in a bid to "seize control" of the country.
Condemning the remarks, the Congress has urged the state government to take strong action against George. Leader of Opposition in the State Assembly V D Satheesan alleged that George made the statement with an intention to ignite communal passion and create deep divisions in society.
George had also alleged that Muslims served the food after spitting in it.
"Why should we eat their spit? Their scholars claim that their spit is a fragrance," he had said.
The Muslim Youth League, the youth outfit of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), had filed a petition with the state police chief seeking legal action against the senior politician.
The ruling CPI(M) asked George to withdraw his statement and apologise.
In a statement, the CPI(M) state secretariat called upon the people to stand together against all efforts to create communal polarisation in the state.
The 70-year-old politician, who represented the Poonjar constituency in the state Assembly for 33 years, also urged non-Muslims to boycott businesses run by Muslims.
They set up businesses in non-Muslim areas to pocket money, George, who formed the Kerala Janapaksham Secular party after quitting the Kerala Congress, had said.
George had lost from Poonjar, once his bastion, to the Left Democratic Front candidate in the 2021 Assembly polls in a triangular fight.
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