Karnataka: Case filed against BJP for defamatory post against Siddaramaiah, Shivakumar
In the complaint, the grand old party alleged that the BJP Karnataka (@BJP4Karnataka) had shared a defamatory content on social media site X in which it used images of Siddaramaiah, Shivakumar and other leaders by calling them 'Scam Lords'.
A case has been registered against the IT cell of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for posting a defamatory content against Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, deputy CM DK Shivakumar and other ministers, said official on Friday. The complaint was filed by the legal team of the Karnataka Congress at the Cyber Crime Police Station in Bengaluru.
In the complaint, the grand old party alleged that the BJP Karnataka (@BJP4Karnataka) had shared a defamatory content on social media site X (which was previously called Twitter) in which it used images of Siddaramaiah, Shivakumar and other leaders by calling them 'Scam Lords'. The post, the Congress said, was an attempt to defame the leaders and create confusion in the society.
What did the BJP post on X?
The post was published on January 29 (Thursday), in which images were allegedly altered under the caption 'Scam Lords'. "This is the real story of the scam empire of the @INCKarnataka government that is looting Karnataka day and night!!" the post read.
Congress seeks legal action
N Narendra, advocate of the Congress legal cell, said that the Karnataka CM and other ministers enjoy public respect and constitutional status, and their images were deliberately edited by the BJP without any supporting evidence. He said the words 'scam' and 'loot' were used to malign the government, provoke hatred, and disturb public peace.
Seeking legal action against the administrators of Karnataka BJP's X handle, Narendra said the post was an attempt to character assassinate the Congress leaders and create an unrest in the state. He said the party may even move to the court if a first information report (FIR) is not registered.
Police officials, on the other hand, told news agency ANI that it has accepted the complaint and registered a case. They said that further investigation is underway and legal action will be taken accordingly.