The Karnataka Police has registered a first information report against Union minister and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Ravneet Singh Bittu for allegedly calling Congress leader Rahul Gandhi “the number one terrorist of the country”, The Indian Express reported on Thursday.
This came a day after the Congress filed a police complaint against Bittu, along with two other BJP leaders and a Shiv Sena MLA for issuing threats to the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha.
The complaint mentioned BJP leader Tarvinder Singh Marwah, Uttar Pradesh minister Raghuraj Singh and Sanjay Gaikwad, the MLA from Maharashtra’s Buldhana who is affiliated with the Shinde Sena, a BJP ally.
Bittu, who is the minister of state for railways, uttered the comment on September 15 in response to the Congress leader’s remarks about the condition of Sikhs in India. Gandhi had made the comments earlier this month in the United States.
“They [Congress] tried to use Muslims [to divide] but did not succeed and now they are now trying to divide Sikhs,” Bittu told reporters, according to The Indian Express.
“The most wanted people of this country had given statements even before Rahul Gandhi reacted,” he said. “[Later] even terrorists supported and hailed Rahul Gandhi’s remarks. When such people are supporting him [Gandhi], then he is the number one terrorist of the country”.
On Thursday, an unidentified police officer told PTI that Bittu was booked for making false statements, wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot and promoting enmity between groups.
He has been charged with relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita at the High Grounds Police Station in Bengaluru.
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