Fact Check: PC George accused of hate speech against Muslims does not belong to Congress
George has passed the alleged controversial remarks on Muslims in 2022. However, the claim that he is associated with the Congress party is false.
By Md Mahfooz Alam Published on 1 May 2024 1:35 PM GMT
Screengrabs of the post making the false claim. (Courtesy: X/@jpsin1)
Hyderabad: A video featuring senior politician PC George from Kerala addressing a public meeting is currently circulating on social media. The individuals sharing this video claim that George, who is associated with the Congress party, has made controversial remarks regarding Muslims.
In the video, George reportedly warns against supporting businesses run by Muslims and also alleges that Muslim restaurants are mixing ‘impotence-inducing’ substances into tea. Additionally, he asserts that Muslims want to conquer the entire nation and urges vigilance and responsible actions.
“Kerala Congress leader PC George said that all Christians and Hindus should never go to eat in Muslim restaurants and hotels because Muslim businessmen want to make Hindus and Christians impotent by mixing various kinds of medicines in the food and capturing the power of this country. He also named a doctor from Sri Lanka as an example of his statement. Without going into the debate on what he said, you should think about this person, he is not an ordinary person, he has been a former minister in the Kerala government,” wrote an X user, Jitendra Pratap Singh, who in his X bio states that he is an ardent supporter of PM Modi.
Click here to view the archived version of the post.
Fact Check
NewsMeter found that George has passed the alleged controversial remarks on Muslims in 2022. However, the claim that he is associated with the Congress party is false.
We ran a relevant keyword search and came across a report by The Economics Times of May 1, 2022, titled ‘Senior Kerala leader George taken into custody for controversial remarks against Muslims.’
As per the report, while addressing a programme organised as part of the Ananthapuri Hindu Maha Sammelan, George had alleged that tea laced with ‘drops causing impotence’ were sold in Muslim-run restaurants to turn people ‘infertile’ in a bid to ‘seize control’ of the country. He had also urged non-Muslims to boycott businesses run by Muslims.
Notably, the report called George, ‘a former Congress politician’, who represented the Poonjar constituency of Kerala for 33 years. After his remark, he was booked under section 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups) of the Indian Penal Code and was taken into custody by police.
Another report by NDTV from May 1, 2022, reported that George, the former Kerala Congress politician, who was arrested by police for his alleged controversial remarks against Muslims was granted bail by a Magisterial court in Thiruvananthapuram. The report mentioned that he had sparked off a controversy by asking non-Muslims in Kerala to avoid restaurants run by the community. This report also called him a ‘former Congress politician’.
According to media reports (Hindustan Times and NDTV), former seven-time MLA PC George merged his party, Kerala Janapaksham (Secular), with the BJP and formally became a member of the BJP in New Delhi on January 31, 2024. After joining the BJP, George expressed displeasure as reports were suggesting that the party was considering him for the Pathanamthitta seat. However, the BJP fielded Anil, son of former Union defence minister and Congress stalwart AK Antony, from the Pathanamthitta seat.
The political career of PC George
George, a veteran politician, entered the state legislature in 1980 representing Poonjar with the Kerala Congress (Joseph) party. Despite losing and skipping elections over the years, he reclaimed his seat multiple times, often with varying political alliances. George officially formed his party Kerala Janapaksham (Secular) in 2019.
After a three-decade tenure in Poonjar, George lost his seat to Sebastian Kulathungal in 2021. Throughout his career, he has switched alliances between the LDF and the UDF, even serving as an Independent MLA in 2017. Despite briefly aligning with the BJP-led NDA, he left the coalition in 2019, citing concerns about minority rights and secularism. However, on January 31, 2024, George merged his party Kerala Janapaksham (Secular) with the BJP and formally joined the BJP.
Controversial Remarks by PC George
1. George was arrested in May 2022 for allegedly making inflammatory remarks against Muslims, including claims that Muslim-run restaurants were adding substances to their food that could cause impotence. This led to legal action under section 153A of the IPC for promoting enmity between different religious groups.
2. George said that love jihad is an agenda to establish a Muslim country by sterilizing men and women of other faiths.
3. George has faced backlash for derogatory comments against women, including instances where he made disparaging remarks about a Catholic nun who was a victim of rape.
4. George stirred controversy by demanding that India should be declared a Hindu nation.
Such comments have been widely condemned and have fueled public outrage.
Hence, we conclude that the viral video of George is from 2022 and he was not associated with the Congress party at that time. The claim is false.
