N Ravikumar
Credit: X/@zoo_bear
Kalaburagi: Chief Whip of the Opposition in the Legislative Council N Ravikumar was booked by the Station Bazaar police station on Monday in connection with the "Pakistani" remark against deputy commissioner Fouzia Tarannum.
During a BJP protest on May 24, Ravikumar had accused the IAS officer of working on the orders of the Congress party and had said, "She seems to have come from Pakistan."
The BJP was protesting against the "ill-treatment" of the Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council Chalavadi Narayanaswamy, who was reportedly locked inside a government guest house in Chittapur when Congress supporters surrounded it.
During the protest, in which several party leaders from the state had participated, the BJP leader had asked the deputy commissioner whether she had come from Pakistan.
Based on a complaint by one Dattatreya Ikkalakhi, Ravikumar was booked on charges of inciting hatred against Muslims and using derogatory language by calling police officers slaves.
A complaint was also registered against him under sections 3(1) (R), 197, 224, 299, 302, 351 and 353 of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
The BJP leader was charged with threatening and causing insult to Scheduled Caste people and District In-charge Minister Priyank Kharge.
Meanwhile, Muslim women leaders submitted a memorandum to Kalaburagi city police commissioner Sharanappa S D on Monday urging him to register a complaint Ravikumar, terming his remarks worrisome since he openly called her a 'Pakistani' in public without any evidence.
"This is a case of hatred and prejudice. It is also a direct attack on her dignity and patriotism," they argued.