BENGALURU: A political drama has erupted as Congress MP Sasikant Senthil has slapped a criminal defamation case against Gangavathi MLA and former BJP minister Gali Janardhana Reddy, who has been accused of dragging his name into the murky Dharmasthala burial case.
The case, filed before the 42nd Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) court, will be heard on September 11.
Senthil, a former IAS officer, claimed that Reddy’s statements are nothing short of cheap slander and a character assassination attempt.
He was a strong critic of saffronisation and he resigned after the abrogation of Article 370 that granted a special autonomous status to Jammu and Kashmir. He had then called it a broader fascist strategy that would undermine India’s democratic fabric over time.
Reddy had alleged that Senthil was the “mastermind” behind the burial site scandal, and also charged that the former IAS officer was the one who sent the “mask man” to claim that hundreds of bodies of rape victims and others had been buried at Dharmasthala village.
Senthil, who was a deputy commissioner of Dakshina Kannada, hit back, saying. “Why drag my name into this? I haven’t had contact with these people in years. This is a reckless stunt. I will fight in court for the truth.”
He branded Reddy, once jailed in mining scams, as a man with no moral right to accuse others.
He alleged, “He looted crores of Karnataka’s wealth, went to prison, and now spins wild stories. I trust the law to strip this farce bare.”
Reddy alleged that Senthil, a pawn in Tamil Nadu politics, was weaponised for religious manipulation. Senthil condemned the remark as an attempt to inject communal poison into an already volatile issue.
“This is bigger than me. This is about fake narratives fed with fear and faith. Karnataka’s people know better,” he added.