Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan today withdrew the controversial ordinance due to the protests in the state even after the Governor of the state Arif Mohammed Khan signed on to the Kerala Police Act Amendment Ordinance.
The Chief Minister said that- “With the announcement of the amendment, different views arose from different quarters. Concerns were expressed by those who supported LDF and those who stood for the protection of democracy. In this situation, it’s not intended to amend the law.” He further said that there will be detailed discussion in the assembly in this regard and next steps will be taken after hearing views of all parties.
The amendment in the Act was proposed by government to prevent Cyber Crime against women, children and other fake social media speech which opposition states as curtailing freedom of expression.
In the ordinance Section 118, A had been added which states that- whoever produce, publish or disseminate content through any means of communication with an intention to intimidate, insult or defame any person through social media will be punished with either imprisonment for up to five years or a fine of up to Rs 10,000 or both.
