BJP urges EC to file criminal case against Kharge for 'poisonous snake' barb

The BJP on Friday approached the Election Commission of India to lodge a complaint against Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge for his “poisonous snake” comment on PM Modi at an election rally in Kalaburagi, demanding that an FIR be lodged against him. A delegation of senior BJP leaders including union minister Bhupender Yadav, general secretary Tarun Chugh, media chief Anil Baluni filed the complaint, calling the comment “abusive” and Kharge a “repeat offender”.

The BJP has demanded that a case be filed against Kharge under IPC Sections 499, 500 and 504. The party has also demanded that Kharge be barred from campaigning for the assembly elections in Karnataka

Speaking to reporters after the complaint, Yadav said that the comment was an indication of the Congress’s “hate politics”.

Read | Karnataka polls: BJP state president slams Kharge over 'poisonous snake' remark

In their complaint, the BJP said that Kharge had earlier used such “derogatory” language, using terms like ‘Modi teri kabr khudegi’, and then calling Modi a “100-headed Ravana”.

“.. The afore-mentioned instances are derogatory, abusive, malicious, libelous & offensive and are made without any basis in law or in fact. A smear campaign is being run to tarnish the image and reputation of our respected Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modiji and BJP, with a clear intent to spread misinformation and thereby influence the voters in a wrongful manner i.e., with a willful intention to mislead them for his own electoral benefits (sic),” the complaint states.

The comments, the BJP said are violative of sections 3.8.2.(ii) (personal attack) and 4.3.1 (create mutual hatred) of the Model Code of Conduct. “Election Commission is empowered under Article 324 of the Constitution of India to ensure that no one indulges in making false, unverified, baseless allegations to violate electoral laws and indulge in behavior which tear apart the sanctity of the MCC,” the complaint says.

At a campaign rally at Kalaburagi on Thursday, Kharge called Modi a “poisonous snake”, causing an uproar which led him to issue an apology.