 Hello and welcome to Newsclick. Vice President of India, Jagdeep Singh Dhankar, recently issued a notice to CPIM Rajesh Sabha MP, John Brita's, over an article in the Indian Express. The article suggested that Union Home Minister Amit Shah should desist from making disparaging remarks against any state. Following this, a complaint was lodged with Dhankar by BJP Kerala official and Dhankar acknowledged. To talk on this, we have John Brita's with us. John, sir, thank you for talking to Newsclick. My first question would be that we saw former Vice President Venkaya Naidu praising your work in Rajesh Sabha. Then this complaint and its acknowledgement by current Vice President Dhankar. How do you see the transition and your comments on the complaint? Ask me, ask questions on any constitutional positions. I am glad that you referred to the compliment passed on by the former Vice President. And I have a good work in relationship with the President Rajesh Sabha German also. But now, as it has been widely reported, I had been called for a meeting with regard to a complaint lodged by a media functional charging me of sedition because I wrote an article in Indian Express regarding the comments of the wonderful Home Minister of this country wherein he had passed certain cryptic remarks against Kerala. So I feel that BJP is dragging constitutional offices into parochial politics. That is how I intend to see these whole gamut of issues. You have been a journalist and as well as an MP. So the complaint brings us to the fact that tradition has been increasingly used against journalists to silence them. After this complaint, how do you see the colonial law and I mean what would be your case for discarding it? I am amused or rather baffled that at a time when the Supreme Court is seized on its matter, when this charges of sedition or rather this archaic colonial rule or law is being misused ramblerly in this country to silence political opponents. And this is a danger where a BJP functionary is referring to this sedition and lodging a complaint with the constitutional office of this country. Interestingly, the other day the union government had filed an affidavit saying that they are at the advanced stage of reviewing the sedition provision. So I don't know, I mean what is the intent of this saying that they are trying to review the sedition provision whereby their own political functionaries are trying to implicate political opponents by bringing this very anachronistic at the same time draconian provision. That is where I mean I am at a loss to understand what is the real intent of this government. I am asking you because this law was used during the independence movement against the journalists who wrote against British government. So that's why I asked you why should we have a law of this kind right now in democracy? We should certainly take it away from our rules and regulations and laws. That's why the wonderful Supreme Court is hearing various petitions and naturally the Supreme Court itself has passed the structures on the government wherein it has castigated the government saying that this provision is being misused rambly. As a journalist, as a lawmaker, I am of the firm opinion that see this is detrimental to the constitutional provision, detrimental to the spiritual democracy, detrimental to the freedom of speech and expression and this is detrimental to the very process of democracy itself. So it is high time that we take it out of our bench of rules and regulations. I have no second opinion on that. Yeah, so I was going through your article I mean which has been cited in the complaint. In your article you argued the case of Kerala being a multi-religious society, it's celebrating its diversity and then there are attacks on it. So we have a new film called The Kerala Story and there's a concealed attack on it. How would you explain this phenomenon? His remark of the honorable Home Minister against Kerala while he was campaigning in Karnataka, he made a comment that it was absolutely unbecoming of a Home Minister. He said that Biber, Kerala is near you, doesn't mean that Kerala is an enemy country, doesn't mean that Kerala is part of Pakistan. He should have relied on the indices of the Central Government itself saying that it should leave that Kerala is your neighbor because Kerala is ahead of many states including Karnataka won't many of the socializes instead of comforting, instead of telling Karnataka that we should be happy that your neighbors like Kerala, he is making cryptic comments against Kerala and even this Kerala story which has been brought up is of course part of the agenda to discredit Kerala. I have been always arguing in parliament and outside saying that if a state doesn't caves into the diabolic game of the ruling party, you either disrupt it or defame it. So the very purpose of RSS ideology is to make sure that the opponents are defamed and disrupted. In the case just because Kerala is steadfast against its position with regard to the BTP policies or we have not given an inch of land for the BTP in this state, just because of that we have been discredited left and right by the rulers in Delhi. Even this Kerala story is a humbug, absolutely ridiculous. The first teaser said that 32,000 girls have been reported to IS and have been taken to Afghanistan. Ridiculous. Now they have amended the teaser by saying that this 32,000 has come down to three and with regard to the I would say the IS menace, I would say that India is insulated from the terrorist menace. It is obviously we have to take care of that but we are a better state compared to states like UP or any other state like that. If you look at the people who have gone to IS or joint IS, I would say that there would be many more people who would have gone from states like Uttar Pradesh rather than Kerala. At the same time, BJP is trying to create a campaign where in my Kerala has been depicted as the format of terrorism, ridiculous humbug. I would earnestly urge the people to see this diabolic game and ensure that the agenda of BJP is defeated at any cost. So this is my last question. I mean we are seeing, I mean ministers like Kiran Rizu referring to judiciary and I mean the essence of it could be understood that he is referring to it in a threatening manner. So and I was going through your article which basically said that the secretariat positions in Rajasabha and Lok Sabha both are being filled by central IS corridor. So is it after judiciary, is it a new attack on opposition through executive? Yeah, I feel that the tentacles of executive is everywhere. And while the media is concentrating on the inverted comma disruption of both the House of Parliament, none of the journalists have looked at the tweaking that has happened to the Rajasabha and Lok Sabha secretariat. That's why I wrote an article. He said that the executive has virtually taken over the independent secretariat of Rajasabha and Lok Sabha. Even during the British period, the assembly, it was called assembly like that. The chairman of the assembly at that time, I think it was brother of Sardar Patel, that is Viterbhai Patel. He fought with the British to ensure that the secretariat of the council or the assembly is independent. It has got independence to ensure that it's a different pillar and not being integrated to the executive. Now what has happened that in a democracy where the parliament has to ensure that executive is accountable to it? Representatives of executive, those officers who are at the helm of the executive positions in the government secretariat are being brought in to preside over Rajasabha and Lok Sabha secretariat. I have nothing against any individual officer. But the culture of independence of both the secretariat is being corporate. And this would have, I would say, far reached the consequences with regard to the functioning of the parliament. Thank you, John sir. Thank you for talking to Newsclick. For rest of the news, stay connected with Newsclick.