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Mangalore, August 21: The Mangalore city police have slapped cases against outspoken secular writer Gowri Lankesh and communal harmony activist K L Ashok, for reportedly making communally provocative remarks during a protest against homestay attack in the city recently.

The duo has been booked under IPC section 153 A (promoting enmity among classes). The cases were registered following a complaint lodged by Deepak, a Hindutva activist at Mangalore South (Pandeshwar) Police Station on Monday.

The complainant said that the duo made horrendous remarks against Hindu Dharma and tried to promote enmity between different groups on grounds of religion. The speeches of Ms Lankesh and Mr Ashok were singularly inflammatory, he added.

The complainant has also submitted a video clipping of her speech in defence of his arguments.

Meanwhile, Ms Lankesh justifying her speech said that her Dharma is Indian constitution.  “All that I maintained at the public meeting was to reaffirm my faith in the Indian Constitution,” she said, adding that if a person swearing allegiance to the Indian Constitution is anti-Constitutional, then it is the most ridiculous thing that she has ever seen.

Stating that she was expecting such a course of action from her detractors and would not take it lying down, Ms Gowri said that she would fight it out legally. This was the first such case slapped against her, apart from the several cases that she has faced as a journalist for her no-holds barred style of writing, she added.

Mr Ashok on the other hand said this was the 14th case to be registered against for his outspokenness on views against the Saffron outfits and their activities in the state.

It could be recalled the duo had addressed a protest rally in front of the office of Deputy Commissioner in Mangalore organized by Karnataka Komu Sauharda Vedike on August 4 to condemn the Hindu Jagarana Vedike attack on young party revelers at Morning Mist Home Stay.