Assistant Minister for Multi Ethnic Affairs, Shalen Kumar confirms that they have filed a report against Opposition MP, Ketan Lal for allegedly inciting communal antagonism.
Kumar condemns the recent social media post by Lal where he recklessly shared the statement regarding the Great Council of Chiefs, the "Kai Viti," and the KVT crime gang.
The Assistant Minister says this is a calculated, irresponsible, and profoundly divisive act against the foundations of our nation.
He says this behaviour is a gross betrayal of our national unity and deliberately seeks to undermine the multi-ethnic harmony that the Government is steadfastly committed to defending.
Kumar says the find the gravity of this transgression amplified by the fact that Ketan Lal chose to explicitly extract and utilize the term "Kai Viti", a defining term for the indigenous owners of this land, in a derogatory context linked to criminality.
He says this action indicates the severe gravity of classifying our people by race and it is nothing short of a cynical attempt to perpetuate ethnic differences and incite racial hatred.
Kumar says as the Assistant Minister for Multi-Ethnic Affairs, he will not condone any statement that targets the i-Taukei in this manner just as he would never tolerate the use of similar generalized terms to cast aspersions on our Fijian Indian ethnic brothers and sisters, or any other community.
He says Lal's rhetoric is not merely political; it is potentially criminal.
The Assistant Minister says we must put an end to the political exploitation of race and it is time to stop using the division of our nation by race and focus on the fact that we all love our beloved nation.
Police confirm that the report has been lodged against Ketan Lal, and an investigation is underway.
