Derogatory FB post on VS: Youth Congress urges police action against actor Vinayakan

Kochi: Malayalam actor Vinayakan has landed in controversy once again, this time over a social media post that allegedly disrespects late Communist stalwart V S Achuthanandan, among other national leaders. The Youth Congress has lodged a formal complaint with the Kerala Police Chief, urging action against the actor for his comments.

In a complaint submitted by Sijo Joseph, president of the Youth Congress in Ernakulam district, it was alleged that Vinayakan’s Facebook post “disrespects” Achuthanandan and could cause emotional distress to those who read it.

The complaint further claimed that the post has the potential to incite followers of the CPM leader and create “disruption of law and order in the city”.

Achuthanandan, a veteran Left leader and former Chief Minister of Kerala, passed away on July 21 at the age of 101. He was cremated with full state honours at Valiya Chudukadu, Alappuzha, on Wednesday night.

In the complaint addressed to DGP Ravada A Chandrasekhar, Sijo also alleged that the actor’s post contained “abusive” references not only to Achuthanandan, but also to Mahatma Gandhi, former Prime Ministers Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, as well as former Kerala Chief Ministers K Karunakaran and Oommen Chandy.

He urged the police chief to invoke appropriate legal provisions against Vinayakan to “restrain him from making similar posts, which can spread anarchy among the public, in the future”.

Vinayakan’s post, written in Malayalam, reportedly used a derogatory term in reference to the deaths of his father, “Comrade VS”, Gandhi, Nehru, Indira, Rajiv, Karunakaran and Chandy.

This is not the first time the actor has sparked backlash. In 2023, he faced criticism for making unpleasant remarks on Facebook following the demise of Oommen Chandy.

The Kerala Police is yet to issue a formal response on the complaint.

PTI