Karnataka BJP MP booked for communal remark

Hubballi (Karnataka): A case was registered against Bharatiya Janata Party’s MP from the state Pralhad Joshi on Saturday for making a communal remark in a speech, police said.

“We have registered an FIR under Section 153 (of the Indian Penal Code) on Saturday against Joshi for his speech in which he allegedly compared a locality in Hubballi, Sadar Sofa with Pakistan,” Additional Commissioner of Police N.B. Sakri told IANS.

The case was registered based on a complaint by a man from the Sadar Sofa locality — which has several mosques — who said that Joshi’s remarks cause communal disharmony by attacking one religion, Sakri added.

Dharwad MP Joshi, 55, had reportedly also said in his speech on Friday in Hubballi that several mosques “illegally store weapons”.

An inquiry into Joshi’s statements was underway, police added.

IANS