FIR against BJP MLA for remarks that Siddaramaiah had ‘got 24 Hindu activists killed’

Bengaluru: BJP MLA Harish Poonja’s statement that Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had got killed 24 Hindu activists prompted the Karnataka police to register an FIR against the legislature from Belthangady Assembly constituency in Karnataka's Dakshina Kannada district.

Poonja's controversial statement was captured in audio and video clips, which quickly went viral on social media platforms. He made the alleged remarks during an event in Belthangady, expressing his dissatisfaction with Hindutva activists who had campaigned for the Congress party. His words, delivered in Tulu, sparked a significant controversy within the state.

The accusation levelled against Siddaramaiah and the Congress party is not new, as it stems from a narrative propagated by the BJP in Karnataka since 2017. In a letter to the Union Home Minister, BJP MP Shobha Karandlaje had claimed that 23 Hindus were murdered in the state under the Congress government, accusing Siddaramaiah of failing to maintain communal harmony.

However, an investigative report by Scroll.in debunked these claims, highlighting instances where victims were falsely identified or died due to reasons unrelated to communal clashes.

Belthangady Mahila Congress President Namitha K Poojary lodged a police complaint against Harish Poonja, accusing him of spreading communal hate and disrupting the peace.

Consequently, the FIR was registered under sections 153, 153A, and 505 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which pertain to incitement, promoting enmity between groups, and making statements leading to public mischief.