BJP Leaders Summoned by Karnataka Police Over Tweet Targeting SC/ST Community
The Karnataka Police have summoned Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) National President JP Nadda and the party’s IT-cell head, Amit Malviya, in connection with a tweet posted by BJP Karnataka that allegedly targeted the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (SC/ST) community. The tweet, which was posted on May 4, 2019, has been deemed offensive and has sparked a complaint with the Election Commission. Police have asked the BJP leaders to appear before the High Grounds police station in Bengaluru within seven days. The investigation into the matter is currently ongoing.
A notice issued by the Karnataka Police stated that a person named Ramesh Babu visited the High Grounds police station on May 5 and lodged a complaint regarding a video posted on the BJP’s Karnataka X handle. The notice stated that the said video has the intention to create feelings of enmity, hatred, and ill-will against members of the SC/ST community. An FIR was registered, and an investigation is underway.
On Tuesday, the Election Commission of India wrote to the Nodal Officer of X platform, directing it to take down the “objectionable” social media post by BJP Karnataka “immediately”. “I am directed to inform that post of “BJP4Karnataka” is violative of extant legal framework (SIC),” the notice issued to the nodal officer, stated.
On May 4, the state unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) posted an animated video on the social media platform ‘X’, which depicted Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah targeting the party over the reservation row, newswire reported. Following that, on May 5, the Congress party filed a complaint with the Election Commission, alleging that BJP Karnataka intends to “provoke rioting and promote enmity”.
Pertinently, the voting for the 28 Lok Sabha seats in Karnataka was conducted in two phases – on April 26 and May 7.
