Maddur police register suo motu case against BJP leader C.T. Ravi for inflammatory speech at Ganesha immersion event

The Maddur Police have suo motu registered a case against C.T. Ravi, BJP leader and MLC, for his inflammatory and provocative speech during the Ganesha immersion procession held in Maddur on Wednesday.

Police inspector Shivakumar said that based on the complaint of Manjunath, a police officer, a case has been registered under Section 196(1)(a) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which criminalises promotion of enmity between two different groups or fosters disharmony and hatred.

Mr. Ravi had referred to the minority community and invoked historical contexts while deploying inflammatory expressions suggestive of violence in Maddur ahead of the Ganesha procession.

He had joined a delegation of senior BJP leaders who had gathered at Maddur, in an apparent show of strength, to take part in a mass Ganesha idol immersion event that was held amidst tight security in the town. This was a consequence of clashes on September 7 that had marred the immersion ceremony, following the pelting of stones, which resulted in tension in the town.

However, the situation has limped back to normalcy since then, and a strong posse of police was deployed for Wednesday’s procession, which concluded without a hitch. But before the procession began, senior BJP leaders had lashed out at the State government and Mr. Ravi has come under scrutiny for his remarks, resulting in the police registering a case against him.

stone pelting incident in Maddur.

Opposition reaction

Meanwhile, Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, R. Ashok, urged the government to withdraw the case against Mr. Ravi, arguing that the MLC had not made any hate speech.

Describing the filing of the case as part of “hate politics”, he cautioned that if the government indulges in such divisive and hate politics, the BJP might respond similarly when it returns to power.

He noted that previous Chief Ministers did not engage in such hate politics and demanded the immediate withdrawal of the case against C.T. Ravi.