(L to R) Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK chief MK Stalin; Union Minister Shobha Karandlaje
Credit: PTI, DH Images
Chennai: Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) on Wednesday sought action against Union Minister Shobha Karandlaje for alleging that a person from Tamil Nadu was responsible for the IED blast at the Rameshwaram Cafe in Bengaluru on March 1, saying the statement generalises the people of Tamil Nadu as “extremists”.
In a detailed letter to the Chief Election Commissioner, DMK organising secretary R S Bharathi said the controversial statement is aimed at promoting enmity and hatred between the people of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu with an intention to further the “electoral prospects” of Karandlaje, who is the BJP candidate from Bengaluru (North).
“It (the statement) generalises the people of Tamil Nadu as extremists and seeks to create hostility and enmity between two communities, Tamilians and Kannadigas. The allegations made in the statement are of a grave nature and have the potential to engender violence against the Tamil community,” Bharathi said in his petition.
DMK’s letter to the CEC comes a day after DMK president M K Stalin termed Karandlaje’s remarks as “reckless” and asked everyone in the BJP, from the prime minister to cadre, to “stop engaging in this dirty divisive politics at once.”
“Another man comes from Delhi and raises pro-Pak slogans in the Vidhan Soudha. Another person comes from Kerala and throws acid at college students,” Karandlaje had said on Tuesday during a protest.
Contending that the minister’s statement is a violation of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC), Bharathi said the “socially divisive statement” of the minister has significantly harmed the relations between the two communities, and has led to animosity and hatred between them, which has been further amplified by social media.
“The statement is also tantamount to hate speech. Moreover, it threatens the law and order situation, and subjects the Tamil people, the alleged perpetrators of the blast, to potential reprisals from the people of Karnataka,” the former Rajya Sabha MP said.
Bharathi sought action against Karandlaje and the Bharatiya Janata Party for violating Sections 123(3A) and 125 of the RP Act, and the МСС.
Meanwhile, the Cyber Crime wing of Madurai Police booked Karandlaje for “promoting enmity” between different groups based on a complaint from a social worker under sections 153 (wantonly giving provocation, with intent to cause riot), 153A (promoting enmity between different groups), 505 (1)(b) and 505 (2) [statements conducing to public mischief] of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).