Newspaper editor, staff booked for report on Deve Gowda family
A case has been registered against the editor of a Kannada daily and its editorial staff for publishing a report about trouble within JDS chief and former prime minister H D Deve Gowda’s family after the Lok Sabha election drubbing.
According to the complaint filed by Janata Dal (Secular) state secretary S P Pradeep Kumar, the newspaper, ‘Vishwavani’, had published a “false report” on May 25 (Saturday), which created an impression that there was commotion and confusion among Gowda’s grandchildren.
A first information report (FIR) was filed on Sunday against the editor, Vishweshwar Bhat, and the editorial staff under Sections 406 (criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating) and 499 (defamation) of the Indian Penal Code, police said on Monday.
Kumar said the report stated that Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy’s son, Nikhil Kumaraswamy, reportedly shouted at his grandfather, Deve Gowda, holding him responsible for his defeat at the hands of a woman in Mandya.
Nikhil had lost to actor Sumalatha Ambareesh, an Independent candidate backed by the Bharatiya Janata Party, by over one lakh votes.
Reacting to the FIR, Bhat said the report was a source-based story and if anybody had any objection, they could have issued a clarification, which, he said, the paper would have carried diligently as it had done in the past.
“I am not able to figure out which state we are living in. I have been an editor for the past 19 years and never ever has such an incident happened,” Bhat said.
“At the most, a defamation case can be registered, but registering an FIR is like setting a new precedent. I will definitely challenge it in court,” Bhat said.
The BJP too came down heavily against the government for lodging a FIR against Bhat and his editorial team. Running a hashtag #EmergencyInKarnataka, BJP general secretary and Chikkamagaluru MLA C T Ravi tweeted, “K S Bhagawan abused Lord Rama & insulted Hindus. He is given police protection by Congress-JD(S) Government. But nationalists are arrested & FIR is filed against an Editor for questioning CM…”
The BJP has accused academician and author K S Bhagawan of depicting Lord Ram in poor light in his book and making derogatory references. The author, however, defended his work, saying it was based on Valmiki’s Ramayana.
BJP MLA and former minister Arvind Limbavali too condemned the lodging of the FIR. “After attacking social media activists, now Kumaraswamy’s dictatorship is targeting journalists. FIR filed on renowned journalist Vishweshwar Bhat. This state govt is a disgrace to the constitutional values & democracy set up of this nation,” he tweeted.
Gowda’s another grandson, Prajwal Revanna, who won from Hassan, and Congress candidate D K Suresh were the only leaders of the ruling coalition who won. Of the 28 seats in the state, the BJP bagged 25.
