Street dog issue: Menaka Gandhi quoted out of context

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Union Minister of Women and Child development Menaka Gandhi has said her statement regarding invoking of Kerala Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act (KAAPA) against street dog killers was quoted out of context.  She said the statement was part of her short interview with a private TV channel that was taken long before yesterday’s Varkala dog bite incident.

In the interview Menaka Gandhi was seen saying that KAAPA should be invoked against those who kill dogs, get arrested, come out on bail and then commit the same offence a number of times. “Certain businessmen in Kerala are trying to become heroes by killing dogs. Such people have mental absurdness. They kill dogs now and slowly they will start killing cattle, women and children,” she had said.

When contacted via email over the context of her statement, the minister said, “The interview was given long before the incident (Varkala dog bite incident on Wednesday).”

TV channels had played up Ms Gandhi’s statement, sensationalising the issue and clubbing it with the report on 90-year-old man’s death in Varkala allegedly due to dog bite. Animal activists says, “today’s illegal killing of more than 30 harmless street dogs in Varkala  under the direction of Jose Maveli and his accomplices could be seen as a fall-out of this kind of unethical journalism”. 

The TV report had also resulted in Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala, KPCC president V M Sudheeran and Minister Jaleel criticising the Union Minister. 

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