'Kerala Hindus denied water' tweet: Police book BJP MP Shobha Karandlaje

The Kerala police have registered a case against Udupi-Chikmagalur MP, and BJP leader from Karnataka, Shobha Karandlaje. She had tweeted that that Hindus from a colony in Kuttipuram in Malappuram district were denied water supply as they supported the the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). "Kerala is taking baby steps to become another Kashmir. Hindus of Kuttipuram Panchayat of Malappuram was denied water supply as they supported #CAA2019. #SevaBharati has been supplying water ever since. Will Lutyens telecast this intolerance of PEACEFULS frm God's Own Country!?," Karandlaje tweeted. 

A case has been booked under section 153(A) of IPC (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race etc). Karandlaje took to Twitter to slam the Kerala government, and said it had lodged a complaint against her instead of acting against the discrimination faced by dalit families of Cherukunnu. "It is high time the society unites against these pressure tactics of a non-performing, biased left government," she said. Karandlaje claimed that the CAA had been accepted by both houses of Parliament and people supporting the Act were facing boycott in business and were being denied basic amenities and jobs. "The CPI(M) government is blind to all these incidents across Kerala, but files a case against me for speaking the truth!" she retorted.

Many BJP leaders responded to Karandlaje's first tweet. BJP's New Delhi MP and spokesperson Meenakshi Lekhi said "Someone should approach the High Court immediately and seek not only restoration of water supply, but also damages." Rajya Sabha MP Rajeev Chandrashekhar tweeted, "There is no doubt that combination of @CPIMKerala n @INCKerala votebankbpolitics is pushing #Kerala in this direction. State which had no presence of hijabs n had a peaceful Muslim community when i grew up there -  now being pushed in a very bad direction by some. #GodsOwnCountry."

According to reportage from multiple outlets, the colony in Malappuram district's Kuttippuram was dependent on a private individual for water; then came accusations that they were denied the water for attending BJP's pro-CAA rally. A resident of the colony told The New Indian Express, “We were denied drinking water because our husbands participated in a meeting organised to gather support for the CAA. Some people told the family that they should not give drinking water to us because CAA is a threat to the people in their community.” However, the individual in question denied the accusation, claiming a lack of water because of technical issues.

The case was registered after a complaint by lawyer Subhash Chandran, a resident of Malappuram. Aravindan E.A., SI of Kuttippuram police, told News18, "From a private person's borewell, water was being provided to the people of the colony. This motor had taken for agricultural work and he was recently issued a warning by State Electricity Board. He was told that if he uses the motor for any other purpose, power supply would be disconnected. He then had stopped using the pump following the crisis worsened.”