Lakshadweep Activist Calls Administrator Patel Bio-Weapon; Booked Under Sedition Case

After Lakshadweep activist and filmmaker Aisha Sultana called Union Territory administrator (UT) Praful Patel a 'bio-weapon' used by the central government on the people of the island, the Kavaratti police booked a case of sedition against her on Thursday, June 10.

Sultana was booked under Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) after BJP leader C Abdul Khadar Haji filed a complaint, reported The Indian Express.

According to the complaint filed by Khader, during a debate in a Malayalam news channel over the ongoing Lakshadweep crisis, Sultana reportedly said that the Centre is using UT Administrator as bio-weapon on the people of the island. Soon after the remark, BJP leaders in Lakshadweep and Kerala registered a complaint against the filmmaker in their respective local police stations.

In the debate, Sultana said, "Last year, there was not a single case of COVID case in the island, however, the UT is reporting over 100 cases daily. I can say this clearly that the central government has deployed bioweapons." This triggered protest in Kerala and Lakshadweep by the BJP, leading filing of sedition against her.

In the Facebook post, she said, "It is through Patel and his entourage that COVID has spread in Lakshadweep. I have compared him as a bio-weapon and not the government or the country."

Extending their support to Sultana, Lakshadweep Sahitya Pravarthaka Sangam said that she raised concerns against the inhumane approach of the administrator and it is not correct to depict her as anti-national.

For the last couple of weeks, the Lakshadweep island has been simmering in anger over a controversial proposal passed by Union Territory Administrator Praful Patel. According to the proposal, there will be a ban on the slaughter of cow, calf, bull, and buffalo; the law would bar people with more than two children from contesting local body polls; a draft policy of Lakshadweep Development Authority Regulation (LDAR) to oversee the development of towns on the islands; anyone with RT-PCR COVID negative test can enter the island, among others.

Against these proposals, the residents of Lakshadweep have been raising voices for over two weeks, to an extent that some youngsters held an underwater protest.

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