HC grants interim stay on FIR against BJP MLC Ravikumar over remarks on Chief Secretary
Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court has granted an interim stay on proceedings against BJP MLC N. Ravikumar in connection with a case filed over his alleged derogatory remarks against the State’s Chief Secretary Shalini Rajneesh.
Justice S R Krishna Kumar, who heard Ravikumar's petition seeking to quash the FIR registered against him at Vidhana Soudha Police Station, passed the interim order after the initial hearing.
During the proceedings, Ravikumar’s counsel Arun Sham argued that the complaint was not filed by Shalini Rajneesh herself, but by a third party. He contended that there was no criminal element in Ravikumar’s statement and hence requested the court to stay the investigation.
The case pertains to a protest held by the BJP on July 1 near the Mahatma Gandhi statue in the Vidhana Soudha premises. Following the protest, Ravikumar allegedly made a statement using disrespectful language against Chief Secretary Shalini Rajneesh. The FIR states that his remarks were not only insulting to the office of the Chief Secretary but also brought disrepute to women in general. It claims the statement had a sexual undertone and damaged the official’s reputation.
The complaint was lodged by Nagaratna, president of Nandadeepa Mahila Sangha, based on which the FIR was registered.
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'Rear-guard action': BJP over Mamata accepting sports minister's resignation after Messi event
New Delhi (PTI): The BJP on Tuesday alleged that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's accepting Aroop Biswas' resignation as the state sports minister is nothing but a "rear-guard action" to douse public anger over the mismanagement of football icon Lionel Messi's event last week.
BJP co-in-charge for West Bengal Amit Malviya alleged that this is also an "open confession" that the Messi event fiasco was not accidental but a government-manufactured disaster, borne out of the poor governance of Banerjee, her ministers and the state bureaucracy.
Banerjee on Tuesday accepted Biswas' resignation as the sports minister in the wake of the controversy over the mismanagement of football icon Messi's event last week, a senior leader of the ruling TMC said.
Biswas, who had written to the chief minister seeking to be relieved of his responsibilities as sports minister, will continue as a cabinet minister, retaining charge of the power department.
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Reacting to the development, Malviya said in a post on X, "TMC Sports Minister Aroop Biswas resigns after the Messi fiasco and Mamata Banerjee accepts it in record time."
"Do not mistake this for accountability; this is nothing but a rear-guard action to douse public anger. anger! This is not 'Raj Dharma'," he added.
The BJP leader alleged that the incident was the outcome of "loot" of common people which is "so synonymous" with the TMC.
The incident was also the outcome of the "shameless VIP culture that TMC thrives on and deep-rooted cronyism promoted by Banerjee," he charged.
Malviya further alleged that Biswas' resignation exposes a "collective failure of Mamata Banerjee, her partisan bureaucracy, and her crony cabinet".
"This is a symbolic sacrifice, a political hoax, soon to be buried under layers of bureaucracy, with no justice, no accountability, and no remorse," the BJP leader said, adding, "No resignation will bring back the time lost, the money wasted, or the stolen chance for football lovers to witness Messi in Kolkata."
