A Dalit organisation here has filed an atrocity complaint against veteran journalist Patil Puttappa alleging that he had made objectionable comments against the Dalit community while criticising efforts of Dalit organisations to get a ‘Dalit Chief Minister’ in the State.
Following the complaint, the Hubballi Suburban police registered a first information report against Mr. Puttappa on Tuesday under Section 3(1)(x) of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
Referring to reports published in two Kannada dailies about Mr. Puttappa’s statement, president of the Samata Sena Gurunath Ullikashi, at a press conference here on Wednesday, contended that its disgraced the Dalit community.
When contacted, Mr. Puttappa told The Hindu that in his statement he had only pointed out that a Chief Minister had to be chosen as per the Constitution.