Karnataka: BJP Rallies Behind FIR Against Sonia Gandhi; Congress Demands Withdrawal Of Complaint, Suspension Of Police Officer

Snapshot

• BJP maintains that while its senior minister can legally fight a case relating to a ‘truthful tweet’, why should Sonia Gandhi be treated with kid gloves despite her tirade against PM Modi.

Karnataka BJP attacked the Congress party on the weekend with its twitter campaign #FIRPeCharchaWithSonia with the state party president urging Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa to order a probe against the ‘insulting’ comments made by Sonia Gandhi against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The state party president echoed the sentiments of the party’s official handle, questioning the demand for quashing the FIR against the Congress president.

The tweet questioned why Sonia Gandhi should not face the law for her ‘lies’ when the BJP national President JP Nadda was fighting the legal case for a ‘truthful tweet by BJP IT Cell Chief’.

The party’s state unit backed the advocate who filed an FIR against Sonia Gandhi for her remarks against the PM-CARES fund and launched a twitter tirade.

This was in reaction to the Congress party state president D K Shivakumar meeting the CM seeking the withdrawal of the case.

An advocate and BJP party member, K V Praveen, had filed a complaint on 22 May at Sagara in Shivamogga over Congress’ 11 May tweet.

“They called PM-CARES fund a fraud. They said on their twitter handle that it was not being used for public welfare and that the PM is going on foreign trips using this fund. These are rumours against the government in a Covid-19 situation, so I filed a complaint against Sonia Gandhi,” K V Praveen Kumar is reported to have said.

The FIR identifies the party’s interim president Sonia Gandhi as the handler of the account.

Reacting to the complaint, an outraged Karnataka Congress had met the CM and sought that the complaint be withdrawn.

KPCC president D K Shivakumar had also sought the suspension of the police officer who lodged the complaint for ‘misusing the process of law’.

Having met the CM with other state Congress leaders, DK Shivakumar had reportedly said that the CM had ‘assured’ him that 'necessary action’ would be taken within 24 hours.

“Since it is a sensitive issue, we wanted to make an appeal to the CM before we launch protests against the same. But he has assured us that a ‘B’ report would be filed within 24 hours and the necessary action be taken,” said Shivakumar as reported.

Political commentators have said that, given the camaraderie between the CM and the state Congress president, the state unit of the BJP has been wary of the ‘all-party’ approach Yediyurappa has taken in recent times.

His approach, some observers and supporters said, has been helpful during the Coronavirus crisis, but may have widened rifts within the party.