FIR against BJP MPs Shobha Karandlaje; Tejasvi Surya for Alleged Hate Speech

FIRs have been booked against BJP MP Shobha Karandlaje and Tejasvi Surya for alleged hate speeches over Bengaluru shopkeeper assault.

Bengaluru (Karnataka):The chief electoral officer of Karnataka on Wednesday, was instructed by the Election Commission of India (ECI) to act promptly and appropriately regarding the complaint lodged by the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) against Union minister Shobha Karandlaje, alleging that she violated the model code of conduct.

Within 48 hours, the poll panel also requested a compliance report on the subject. Union Minister Shobha Karandlaje ignited a significant controversy on Tuesday, March 19 when she claimed that a Tamil Nadu resident had placed a bomb in Bengaluru's Rameswaram cafe.

She made this statement in response to the attack on a Bengaluru shopkeeper during a protest in the state capital.

Speaking at a protest in connection with the recent attack on a mobile shop owner in Bengaluru, the Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare said, “People from Tamil Nadu come here, get trained there and plant bombs here. They placed a bomb in the cafe.”

The DMK's complaint alleged that Karandlaje's remarks "seek to foster animosity and hostility between the citizens of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, and have been fabricated for the advancement" of her political career. On Wednesday, RS Bharathi, the secretary of the DMK organisation, sent a copy of the complaint to the EC.

She later apologised for her remarks. "o my Tamil brothers & sisters, I wish to clarify that my words were meant to shine light, not cast shadows. Yet I see that my remarks brought pain to some - and for that, I apologize. My remarks were solely directed towards those trained in the Krishnagiri forest, linked to the Rameshwaram Cafe blast. To anyone from Tamil Nadu effected (sic), from the depths of my heart, I ask your forgiveness. Furthermore, I retract my previous comments," she posted on X on Tuesday.

The Bengaluru South BJP MP Tejasvi Surya was booked by the Bengaluru police for using hate speech after he shared a video of an alleged attack on a shopkeeper for portraying Hanuman Chalisa on social media.

Tejasvi Surya's comments were described as "factually wrong and incendiary" and "an explicit call for violence against the Muslim community" in the complaint submitted by Hate Speech Beda, a group of activists and individuals committed to combating hate speech.

"Such statements are not only factually wrong and incendiary but also an explicit call for violence against the Muslim community. He has called them 'anti-social elements' and that with political backing available to 'Jihadis', in his opinion, 'such incidents of crime against Hindus have risen in our state'. It is evident that he is attempting to create hatred between the Hindu and Muslim communities, calling them 'Jihadis', and disrupt communal harmony in the lead up to the election,"

Surya posted a video of 26-year-old Mukesh, the shopkeeper, on X on March 18. According to the video, six guys attacked him because he was playing Hanuman Chalisa during Azan, the Islamic call to prayer.

“A Hindu shopkeeper who was playing bhajans at his shop was assaulted by anti-social elements saying bhajans aren’t allowed during the time of ‘azaan’. The emboldening of such elements is a direct result of Congress’s appeasement politics. Just a few days back, people who shouted “Pakistan Zindabad” were given bail. With such political backing available to Jihadis, naturally such incidents of crime against Hindus have risen in our State. CM must stop setting wrong precedents. I call upon him to update the State on what action is initiated against the miscreants in this case.”

Surya has been booked under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 153(a) (promoting disharmony or feelings of hatred, enmity, or ill will between different religious, racial, or other groups), 295 (a) (deliberate and malicious acts that outrage religious feelings of any class are punishable) and the Representation of the People Act Section 123 (3a) (The promotion of, or attempt to promote, feelings of enmity or hatred between different classes of the citizens of India by a candidate or his agent).