The Calcutta High Court Monday (February 6) quashed the FIR filed against actor turned BJP leader Paresh Rawal over his ‘cooking fish’ remarks made against illegal Bangladeshis and Rohingyas during the campaign for the Gujarat state elections.
The court was hearing a plea filed by Paresh Rawal on February 1, 2023, seeking to quash the FIR filed against him by Kolkata’s Taltala police based on a complaint filed against him by CPM(M) leader Mohammad Salim.
While dismissing the FIR filed in December last year, single-judge Justice Rajasekhar Mantha remarked that the speech was delivered in Gujarati, which the persons who objected to did not necessarily understand.
“The speech in question was made in Gujarati and there is no English translation of the text to date. There have been some comments against the speech by persons, who may not necessarily understand Gujarati. Above all, the petitioner has clarified and has also tendered an apology,” Justice Mantha stated in the order.
After considering the facts of the case, the bench concluded that further continuation of the proceedings and the FIR would be undesirable, and thereby dismissed the FIR.
FIR filed against Paresh Rawal
Notably, on December 2, an FIR was filed against Paresh Rawal by West Bengal Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Mohammed Salim who alleged that Rawal’s ‘cooking fish’ remark could foster anti-Bengali sentiments among people of other states in the country, causing problems for expatriate Bengalis.
The FIR was filed at Kolkata’s Taltala police station under sections 153 (provocation with intent to cause riot), 153A (promoting enmity between different groups), 153B (propagates denial of rights to linguistic or racial groups), 504 (Intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace) and 505 (statements intending public mischief) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
The controversy erupted after Rawal asked the voters during his rally in Gujarat’s Valsad if they will ‘cook fish for the Bengalis’ with their gas connections. He later apologised for his comments and said that he “meant illegal Bangladeshis and Rohingya” people when he asked at a rally what the audience will do with gas cylinders. The actor and BJP leader also took to social media and apologised for his remarks, asserting that they were meant for illegal intruders from Bangladesh and Rohingyas.