Anti-Halal food campaign: Right wing leader arrested in Kerala

Kochi: The Ernakulam police arrested right wing leader and Hindu Aikya Vedi state general secretary RV Babu on Friday on non-bailable charges for speaking against Halal food certification.

RV Babu has been charged under Section 153 A of IPC ( promotion of enimity between communites) which is a non-bailable offence.He was later given station bail and released on demand to appear before magistrate court on Monday.

The Hindu Aikya Vedi and the RSS is took out protest marches across the state against the arrest of RV Babu. Babu is a former pracharak of the RSS and a controversial figure of the Hindu Aikya Vedi in all public platforms and debates.

The Hindu Aikya Vedi and the RSS have been on a major campaign in the state against Halal certification. There are several instances of Halal certification being made compulsory in food joints and provision shops by a section of the populace and the Hindu Aikya Vedi had come out against this with a counter campaign.

Last month, Kerala Police had arrested four Hindu Aikya Vedi members for threatening to remove a sticker stating that halal food was available at a bakery in Kerala's Kurumassery, Ernakulam

The Hindu Aikya Vedi (HAV) which means Hindu United Front is a Hindutva organisation working in the state of Kerala.The president of the organisation is K P Sasikala, known for her oratory and her speeches are accused of polarizing society on communal lines which gets depicted as 'Hindu awakening'.

Kummanam Rajasekharan, who later became the chief of Bharathiya Janata Party's Kerala unit during 2015 to 2018, had been the secretary of the organisation. It is still shown that he is the General Secretary of the organisation according to its website. The organization was formed in Kerala following Poonthura riots which happened in 1992 and came into more attention following Marad riots in 2003.