The Court went on to say that Annamalai had knowingly and conveniently used a petition filed before the Supreme Court on environmental issue as a vehicle to stoke “communal tension.”
“The petitioner is a former Senior IPS Officer who is expected to know the laws of the land and he is the President of the BJP State Unit in Tamil Nadu. He is a well-known leader and a mass influencer. Therefore, the statements made by him will have a very wide reach and influence on the people particularly those belonging to the Hindu religion and it carries a lot of impact on this demographic group. The target of his speech is aimed towards a particular religious group and what they were told by the petitioner is that the minority religious group is attempting to destroy the culture of the majority religious group. 46. From the speech of the petitioner, it is unmistakable that he was attempting to portray a calculated attempt made by a Christian Missionary NGO which is funded internationally, to destroy Hindu culture. It also whips up a communal fervour when he says “we are all running to the Supreme Court to counter this” The public was, therefore, led to believe that Christians are out to finish off Hindu’s and that “we” (in this context Hindus) were running to the Supreme Court to defend it. A petition filed in the interests of the environment was suddenly converted into a vehicle for communal tension,” the High Court said.
Source: Barandbench
