BENGALURU: Following the complaint by election officials, Union Minister Shobha Karandlaje has been booked for hate speech by the Cottonpet police in Bengaluru.
Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya has also been booked for hate speech by the Halasuru Gate police.
The move comes a day after the EC directed the Karnataka chief electoral officer (CEO) to take immediate and appropriate action on the DMK's complaint regarding the violation by Karandlaje, who is BJP's Lok Sabha candidate from the Bangalore North constituency.
The poll panel also sought a compliance report on the matter within 48 hours.
Karandlaje, who is contesting as a BJP candidate from the Bengaluru North Lok Sabha seat, retracted her remarks and apologized for her remarks.
On Thursday, based on the complaint filed by election commission officials, the Cottonpet police booked the Union Minister under sections 123 (3A), 123 (3), and 125 - of the RP (Representation of the People) Act
In its complaint, the DMK said that the minister's statement generalised the people of Tamil Nadu as extremists.
This is the first action ordered by the EC against a key political figure in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
During a protest in Bengaluru on Tuesday, Karandlaje had said that law and order in Karnataka has "deteriorated".
People who come from Tamil Nadu plant bombs here, those from Delhi chant "Pakistan Zindabad" slogans and some who come from Kerala were involved in "acid attacks", she claimed.
The Madurai police have also booked her for promoting enmity between different groups, while her remarks have drawn sharp criticism from Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin and other DMK leaders.
Meanwhile, Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya has been booked for his alleged hate speech for his remarks during the protests held against the assault on a shopkeeper for reportedly playing ‘Hanuman Chalisa’ during ‘Azaan’, in Nagarthapet on Sunday (March 17) evening.
The Halasuru Gate police have also booked 44 other BJP workers including Karandlaje, Surya, and Bengaluru Central MP PC Mohan for causing public nuisance by holding protests without permission.
