Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar should be prosecuted for spreading misinformation through a social media post in which he claimed that Congress supporters had shouted pro-Pakistan slogans in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly, state minister and party leader Dinesh Gundu Rao said on Wednesday.
The Union IT minister shared a video of the purported pro-Pakistan sloganeering in which an individual can be heard shouting “Pakistan zindabad”, while another tries to quieten him.
However, in another video shared on social media by Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala, people in the House can be heard shouting in support of Congress MP Syed Nasir Hussain, who was elected to the Rajya Sabha from Karnataka. The slogans “Nasir Hussain Zindabad”, “Nasir Sahab Zindabad” and “Congress Party Zindabad” can be heard.
Bharatiya Janata Party MLAs have filed a complaint with the Speaker claiming that pro-Pakistan slogans were shouted in a celebratory manner after Hussain’s poll victory, reported the Hindustan Times.
“Rahul’s [Gandhi] Congress has elected as MP Rajya Sabha – sitting MP Nasser Hussein who is ‘political secretary’ of [party chief] Mallikarjun Kharge,” Chandrashekar had said in a tweet on Tuesday. “Listen to what the supporters of this Congress MP are shouting inside the Vidhan Soudha building after his election - ‘Pakistan Zindabad’”.
Scroll could not verify the authenticity of the videos.
Congress leaders have said that a Forensic Science Laboratory report of the videos is awaited.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday said that “strict action” will be taken if the Forensic Science Laboratory report proved that the slogan was shouted, The Indian Express reported.
“There is no question of protecting those who shouted slogans in favour of Pakistan,” Siddaramaiah said.
Rao said that if pro-Pakistan slogans were indeed shouted in the House, his government “will not let such traitors go unpunished”. “There is some confusion…Whether the slogans were ‘Nasir Saab zindabad’ or ‘Pakistan zindabad’ should be known,” Rao added.
On Wednesday, Rao also criticised Chandrashekar for his “disgraceful” claims. “Being an IT Minister it’s even more disgraceful that he stoops to such desperate, abject lows,” Rao said in a social media post.
The IT minister’s post came after the Congress won three out of the four Rajya Sabha seats in Karnataka that were up for grabs in the election on Tuesday. The Hindutva party won one seat.
On Wednesday, Surjewala said that the BJP was frustrated and demoralised by their resounding defeat in the Rajya Sabha elections in the state.
“Not only is this an absolutely false bogey, this is the extreme sense of exasperation that exists in their perverted mindsets against anyone who belongs to a minority community, particularly a Muslim Minority,” Surjewala said in a post on social media platform X.
The BJP organised a protest outside the Karnataka Assembly on Wednesday amid the allegations that pro-Pakistan slogans were raised by Congress supporters.
Leader of the Opposition R Ashok led the protest along with BJP leaders Kota Shrinivas Poojari, Sunil Kumar Karkala, N Ravi Kumar and others.
Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Pralhad Joshi on Wednesday said that the Congress was directly “supporting” Pakistan, The Economic Times reported.
In a video message condemning the incident, Joshi said: “Today, after the victory of Nasir Hussain in the Rajya Sabha election from the Congress party, in the Vidhana Soudha itself, which is the most sacred building of the democracy of Karnataka, pro-Pakistani, ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ slogans have been raised by the Congress party workers.”
Joshi alleged that Hussain was trying to mislead the public about the incident.
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