Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: A police case has been registered after the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) accused the state BJP’s official X handle of posting defamatory content branding chief minister Siddaramaiah, deputy chief minister D K Shivakumar and other ministers as “Scam Lords”. The complaint, filed by a team of KPCC lawyers at the Cyber Crime Police Station in Bengaluru, alleges the post falsely accused Congress leaders of “looting” the state and sought to damage their reputations.According to the complaint, the BJP post carried images of the CM, DCM and other ministers under the caption “Scam Lords”, and was “misleading, malicious and aimed at tarnishing reputations without substantiation”. Police confirmed the complaint has been accepted and a case registered, with further investigation under way to examine possible legal violations.In the post on X, BJP Karnataka wrote, **”This is the real story of the scam empire of the @INCKarnataka government that has been looting Karnataka day and night!! #CongressFailsKarnataka #ScamSarkara.”** Congress leaders argue the language was intended to create confusion in society and present unverified allegations as fact.Meanwhile, Karnataka BJP president B Y Vijayendra intensified his attack on the Congress government, demanding a probe into an alleged excise scam worth more than Rs 6,000 crore and calling for the resignation of Excise Minister Ramappa Timmapur. He said the inquiry should be conducted either by a sitting High Court judge or the CBI.**”Rs 6,000 crore scam wherein the excise minister and his family members are involved, and proof has already emerged, but CM Siddaramaiah is not willing to discuss this on the floor of the house. Investigation by the CBI or a sitting high court judge is the only answer to the entire scam. The Siddaramaiah government is trying to cover up the entire scam, creating drama. Outside the house and inside the house, we are going to demand the resignation of the excise minister,”** Vijayendra told reporters.The BJP and JD(S) have also staged protests near the Mahatma Gandhi statue at Vidhana Soudha against what they called a “corrupt” Congress government.Tensions spilled into the Karnataka Assembly, where BJP MLAs accused the Siddaramaiah government of running a “phone tapping government”. The row erupted after Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H K Patil alleged that the Governor was receiving calls “from Delhi”.BJP members demanded to know how ministers had information about calls to Raj Bhavan, while IT/BT Minister Priyank Kharge defended Patil, saying he only meant the Governor was acting like a “puppet in the hands of the central government”. The heated exchanges forced Speaker U T Khader to adjourn the House for lunch.
