Panaji, June 7 Days after Goa's Art and Culture Minister Govind Gaude's video clip praising branded shirts went viral on social media, a senior BJP leader on Monday filed a complaint against a social activist for slandering the ST community by commenting adversely on the viral video.
Prakash Velip, a senior BJP office bearer and a former chairperson of the Goa Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, in a complaint filed at the Ponda police station in South Goa has claimed that the activist Sudeep Dalvi had hurt the sentiments of the community through his remarks about Gaude, who belongs to the Gawda tribe, a notified scheduled tribe in Goa.
"His comment on Facebook attracts Section 3 of the Atrocities Act (Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989). He has hurt the sentiments of the ST community. We also condemn his remarks against Minister Govind Gaude," Velip told reporters after he filed a complaint at the police station and demanded "prompt enquiry and action" against Dalvi.
On Saturday, Gaude's video in which he mentions his preference for 'Louis Philippe' shirts and praises the brand, had gone viral.
"I am wearing Louis Philippe shirt which is costing Rs 3,000 in the market. A same shirt, a duplicate shirt, is available at Rs 300 at the market stand. But when I wear this shirt, I get pleasure and it is long lasting," Gaude had said.
The video had garnered a lot of attention on social media, sparking several memes. Dalvi had reacted to Gaude's video, stating that the Minister's ancestors "got nothing to wear instead of a kashti (loin cloth), the joy of wearing it can never be understood by a Loui(s) Philippe wearer..."
Dalvi has since apologised for his comment.
"The instantaneously typed comment was full of anger and frustration of my mind, troubled by my personal poverty due to one full wasted work year and loss of many near and dear ones due to Covid 19, including my close family members and friends," Dalvi said in his apology post on Facebook.
"The comment crossed the boundaries of public and private as well as ethical and unethical, were in a very bad taste, below the belt and denigrating at a personal level, which I realized quite soon and deleted it immediately," he said.
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