An FIR has been registered against Vishwa Vokkaliga Mahasamastana Math seer Kumara Chandrashekaranatha Swamiji for his controversial statement on voting rights to Muslims. The police confirmed that the FIR was registered on Friday after a complaint was lodged by a social worker.
These remarks were made during a protest meeting of the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh in Karnataka, where he was addressing concerns regarding notices that the state’s Waqf board had issued. In this address, he went so far as to demand that a law be enacted which disenfranchises the Muslim community, and then stated that “We must ensure there is no Waqf board,” stressing that nothing constitutes a lack of “Dharma” like taking away one’s land.
Swamiji called for unity in battling injustices against farmers, stating emphatically that claims by the Waqf board over land ownership constitute a huge injustice: “Everybody should fight against the injustice being caused to farmers… Taking away somebody else’s land is not Dharma.”.
However, after outrage, Swamiji apologised for his remarks on Wednesday and termed them as “slip of the tongue.” The police have booked a case against him under Section 299 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings. A senior police officer said that the case is being investigated based on the complaint received at Upparpet police station.
