BJP women activists chase youngsters from Kerala beach with brooms

Kozhikode: A group of 30 women led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday entered Konad beach at West Hill in Kerala's Kozhikode, armed with brooms and threatening to chase away young people enjoying the evening at the beach. The women referred to the moral policing as a type of 'protest', which was officially launched by West Hill BJP local committee general secretary Malini Santhosh in response to "immoral activities" they said were taking place at the beach.

“We are not against love, or sitting with your loved ones on the beach. But they should sit properly. I'm ashamed to say what the youth are doing at the beach these days. And this is what the children in the neighbourhood are growing up watching. Many children play at the beach area and when they come back home, they tell their parents what they saw there. This has caused great difficulty for residents. So it was the mothers of the area who came to the beach with brooms and staged the protest,” Malini said, the News Minute reported.

Several of these women were members of the BJP Mahila Morcha, and video footage from the incident shows that the group also included a few men and children.

Malini claimed that people in the Konad Beach area were also experiencing problems as a result of "drug-addicted youth," who allegedly came to the beach to use drugs and engage in "immoral activities." The women had told journalists that the police were doing nothing to prevent such acts.

The BJP leader went on to describe the broom stunt as an "awareness campaign" against drugs and immoral behaviour.

“A few days ago, an elderly man in the area asked a couple who was sitting near the roadside and indulging in ‘activities’ to move a little further away. But the couple got angry and shouted at him. Don’t we have the right to live peacefully in our area?” she asked.

“The women spoke to many couples and other youngsters who were sitting on the beach, and all of them got up and left without any objection. The police were also present with us,” she said.

The Vellayil police arrived at the protest scene, but no complaint has been filed yet. The police claimed this was because no complaints were filed and no law and order violations were seen. “The women protesters approached each person who was sitting at the beach and informed them that they would stage a protest if they saw any bad behaviour. As it is, there were only a few people present at the time,” the police said.

Malini, on the other hand, has threatened that they will continue moral policing until their issues are solved.