A day after police registered a criminal case for his controversial “hate speech,” Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam general secretary Vellappally Natesan went into damage control mode.

Natesan had drawn flake for his comment that there was caste discrimination on the part of the government in distributing aid. He said only Muslims get due assistance from the government when they die and “one should die as a Muslim to get some benefit.”