Thiruvananthapuram: Goa Governor P S Sreedharan Pillai has alleged that the Kerala Police had humiliated him by tampering with a complaint filed by him against a Facebook page. The incident took place during the first wave of the COVID-19 when Pillai was the Governor of Mizoram.
"If a complaint filed by the Raj Bhavan on behalf of the Governor is handled in such a shoddy manner, what will be the fate of the grievances raised by ordinary people?" asked Pillai while taking part in the 'Crossfire' interview on Manorama Online.
"During the first phase of COVID-19, a fake post appeared on a Facebook page titled 'Kavimannu' (Saffron soil) which said that I was in a critical condition due to the pandemic and liver disease. This post was shared by thousands of people," said Pillai.
Subsequently, the Mizoram Raj Bhavan Secretary filed a complaint at the Cantonment police station in Thiruvananthapuram. "Moreover, I contacted Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and A K Balan, who was a Minister at that time, over phone and raised the issue," said Pillai.
However, even after two years, there has been no progress in the case. "Recently, I learnt that the Kerala Police had deliberately inserted an error in the form submitted to Facebook seeking details of Kavimannu which helped the social media authorities evade the queries raised by the police," added the Governor.
Pillai added that Kavimannu had no links with the BJP even though its name might suggest so. "Unfortunately, I still have no idea who had spread the false news against me," he said.
Call to resolve Governor-Govt spat
On the ongoing conflict between Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan and the state government, Pillai said that both sides should climb down from their adamant stand and settle the issues through a face-to-face discussion.
Pillai cited an incident in Goa to illustrate his point. "While selecting the Vice-Chancellor of Goa University, I ignored the recommendation of the state government and chose Dr Harilal Menon, who had more seniority as well as qualifications. However, I had explained the matter to the state government and convinced it before announcing my decision," said Pillai.
Sabarimala comments
In the interview, Pillai also spoke about the controversy over his remarks on the stir against the entry of women to the Sabarimala Temple. "I have no regrets on my comment that the stir was a 'golden opportunity' for the BJP. What is wrong in a party president urging its members to utilize the stir for the party's gains?" He asked.
But, a television channel had telecast the speech by deleting his call to utilise the stir 'peacefully', pointed out Pillai, who was the president of the Kerala state unit of the BJP at that time.
