Right Wing Politician T G Mohandas Arrested on Video Remarks Against NEET Protesters

Right wing politician T G Mohandas has been arrested from his home in Mattancherry in connection with remarks allegedly made by him in a YouTube video on the protests conducted by students in New Delhi against the leak of NEET paper, sources in the police department informed.

Arrest of Mohandas

A group of police officials from Thiruvananthapuram Cyber Police Station investigating the case reached Mohandas' home located near Mattancherry called Koovappadam on Sunday evening. According to the police, Mohandas was present when the investigation team reached his house and the team seized details related to his YouTube channel along with the devices allegedly used to upload the video.

The Case In Brief

This particular case is in response to the video that was uploaded by Mohandas on his YouTube channel known as "Pathrika" wherein he talked about how he would have reacted to the students who had protested against the union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan regarding the NEET paper leak issue. Reports suggest that he threatened to open fire on the protesters should he be in charge. Besides, he talked about imposing curfew on the surrounding areas of the protests. Moreover, he also used derogatory language for women involved in the protests.

Two of the student organizations namely the Student Federation of India (SFI) and the All India Students Federation (AISF) complained about his acts. Thereafter, the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) held a protest at his residence demanding strict actions against him. Mohandas who was once a leader of the intellectual cell of BJP has later said that these remarks were just a satirical statement that lost its humor once translated from Malayalam. The south Kerala chapter of the RSS has now disassociated itself with Mohandas as his statements are condemned but he has not been working officially with RSS.

He was arrested under clauses in the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Information Technology Act relating to incitement to public disturbance, as well as one clause of the Kerala Police Act, after being reported that the videos were made for the purpose of disturbing the public peace and creating a sense of fear in the public.

Political Implications

The BJP has described the arrest as "discriminatory" and has accused the Kerala government of utilizing this matter as an attempt to distract the public from the alleged failures in the efforts to provide flood relief and the ongoing protests in the state’s coastal regions. However, the response from the party highlights that the issue has become a political one very quickly, beyond its original nature, as the CPI(M)-led LDF government accuses the BJP, and vice versa about the reasons behind arresting the individual and at what stage.

Bigger Picture

The protest held at the Jantar Mantar which triggered the controversial remarks made by Mohandas was part of the bigger movement of the students against the NEET-UG paper leak in 2024, which led to the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan as Union Education Minister. The NEET-UG paper leak issue in itself has been subject to separate arrest of the accused masterminds in the case by the Economic Offences Unit of Bihar and CBI in the last two years.