Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan criticised the BJP leader and former member of parliament Suresh Gopi on Monday over misbehaving with a woman journalist during a media interaction in northern Kozhikode.
The actor-turned-politician landed in trouble after a video surfaced online showing him placing his hand on the shoulder of the journalist, who pushed it away twice. The CM, at a press conference held here in the evening, said that the actor's subsequent apology indicates an acknowledgement that his action was wrong. However, merely because he apologised, the woman journalist is not ready to end the matter, he said. "It indicates the extent of the mental trauma suffered by her," he added.
The Kerala police on Saturday registered a case under IPC section 354 (outraging the modesty of a woman) against Gopi for his actions while speaking to a woman journalist during an interaction with reporters in Kozhikode.
Nadakkavu Police here registered the case based on the complaint of the journalist who works with a local television channel. She lodged the complaint, along with a video of the incident with the city police commissioner, who, in turn, handed it over to the local police station for further action.
The journalist also took up the issue with the Kerala Women's Commission, which sought a report from the District Police Chief on the incident that occurred on Friday, October 27.
Facing intense criticism from various quarters, Suresh Gopi, a former BJP Rajya Sabha member, later tendered an apology, saying he had only treated the journalist with affection. He said he has never been disrespectful to anyone in his life, on or off the stage, and apologised to the journalist for any mental agony she might have suffered due to his behaviour.
Suresh Gopi had said he had treated the woman journalist affectionately in the presence of other media persons. "But, in my opinion, whatever she feels about it should be respected. I tender an apology if she felt bad or suffered any mental stress anyway... Sorry," Gopi, who is also a national award-winning actor, had said in a Facebook post. Despite his apology, criticism from various quarters came up about his alleged inappropriate behaviour.
(with PTI inputs)
