Alappuzha, 18 May

CPI(M) veteran G Sudhakaran on Sunday said that the case registered against him by the police in connection with his recent remarks about ballot breach during the 1989 Alappuzha Lok Sabha election would turn out to be like 'holding a tiger by its tail'.

Sudhakaran said that his controversial remarks were a "speech tactic" of saying something negative in order to have a positive effect. "But the police probably have no clue about such things," he said.

The CPI(M) veteran was referring to a video of him speaking at an NGO union event on 14 May when he said that NGO members who submit sealed ballots should not assume that "we won't find out" whom they have voted for.

"We will unseal them, verify, and correct them. Even if a case is filed against me for saying this, I don't mind," he was quoted as saying in the video aired by news channels.

He was also heard saying in the video that the postal ballots were opened during the 1989 Alappuzha Lok Sabha election and tampered with. But it was not clear from the video who unsealed and tampered with the postal ballots.

Sudhakaran, a day later, at another event had clarified that what he had said earlier was not completely true and he had added something extra to it from his "imagination".

Despite his clarification, the police on Friday registered an FIR against him under various sections of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 and the IPC.

The punishment for the offences under the Representation of the People Act range from a few months to a maximum of two years, while those under the IPC carry jail terms from two years to seven years.

Sudhakaran said that a case was lodged against him in three days regarding his controversial remarks.

But in the matter of another political leader, who allegedly insulted the constitutional and legal systems of the country, a case was registered after a month, that too for bailable offences, he claimed, without naming whom he was referring to.

"Is this (his) issue bigger than that?" he asked while speaking to reporters here.

On Saturday, the Chief Electoral Officer in Kerala directed the District Electoral Officer to keep him informed about the progress in the case against Sudhakaran.

According to a government statement, the matter has been communicated to the Election Commission of India.

The CPI(M) has contended that the party never carried out any such activities and said that persons of Sudhakaran stature should be careful while making such statements.