Kerala Leader of the Opposition Pinarayi Vijayan demands investigation into ‘defamatory’ remarks made by Major Ravi

Leader of the Opposition Pinarayi Vijayan on Friday (June 12, 2026) lodged a petition with Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala demanding an investigation into the defamatory remarks made by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and filmmaker Major Ravi regarding the former Chief Minister’s visit to pay his last respects to Innocent, actor and former MP of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), after his death.

According to a press release from Mr. Vijayan’s office, a complaint has also been submitted to State Police Chief Ravada Chandrasekhar regarding Mr. Ravi’s remarks and the subsequent social media campaign. Mr. Ravi had claimed in a widely shared video that the former Chief Minister had attended the funeral of Innocent accompanied by a convoy of 55 vehicles and 560 police personnel. Several social media handles were used to spread the video across platforms.

Links to the actual visuals of the day of the incident and the posts that were fabricated and circulated have been provided along with the complaint. The complaint also points at a conspiracy behind the criminal and defamatory social media campaign and demands a scientific investigation and punitive action against the culprits.

Mr. Vijayan’s office had earlier stated that the actual visuals of him arriving to pay respects to Innocent had already appeared on various media channels. Anyone examining these visuals could easily see that the allegations raised by Major Ravi were baseless and that the visuals circulating on social media in support of these allegations were fabricated.