BJP Files Police Case Against Siddaramaiah Over ‘Terrorist’ Jibe
Siddaramaiah had said there were extremist/terrorist elements in the BJP, the RSS and the Bajrang Dal.
The Karnataka BJP lodged a police complaint against the state Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday. The complaint comes days after Siddaramaiah made a statement claiming there were extremist/terrorist elements in the BJP, the RSS and the Bajrang Dal.
The BJP demanded that an FIR under Section 153A (Promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony), should be registered against Siddaramaiah.
A delegation of BJP leaders, led by spokesperson S Suresh Kumar, submitted the complaint to Bengaluru city police commissioner T Suneel Kumar. Referring to Siddaramaiah’s statement on 10 January, alleging that the BJP and other parties in the Sangh Parivar have extremist elements, the BJP claimed it was an attempt to create enmity among people in the state.
The chief minister, who spoke to a reporter in Chamrajnagar, had used the Kannada word ugragami, which could mean either extremist or terrorist, to describe the Sangh Parivar.
“Mr Siddaramaiah being the Chief Minister of Karnataka is misusing his position to spread blatant falsehood against the Bharatiya Janatha Party with an ulterior motive of reaping political gains…,” read the complaint lodged by the BJP.
The complaint also mentioned the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) working president Dinesh Gundurao, who also made a statement that the BJP was a like a terrorist organisation.
“This statement is malicious, derogatory, defamatory and false. Mr Dinesh Gundurao’s statement is widely published in print, electronic and social media. The said statement is creating enmity between citizens by creating a wrong impression of the BJP amongst people,” BJP further added in their complaint.
No FIR has been registered so far.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)