A Facebook post with reference to Prime Minister Narendra Modi by Dinesh Amin Mattu, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s media adviser, has miffed the BJP Yuva Morcha, which filed a police complaint against him on Monday.
Mr. Mattu’s post in Kannada on Sunday read: “Don’t you know what happened to Indira Gandhi in the end? Do you want the same thing to happen to Modi?”. Construing this as “issuing life threat to the Prime Minister,” the morcha filed a complaint with the High Grounds police in Bengaluru.
Morcha secretary Ajith Hegde Bellekeri alleged that the post assumes seriousness at a time when there was suspicion that a “conspiracy” was being hatched against the BJP and RSS activists. Mr. Bellekeri alleged that such a post by a person holding a position of Cabinet rank was “intended at disturbing public peace.”
When contacted by The Hindu , Mr. Mattu clarified that the Facebook post was part of a discussion on curtailment of freedom of expression against NDTV India. “I was just replying to a question and suggesting that Mr. Modi would also lose the election like Ms. Gandhi if he tried to curtail freedom of expression. I never said anything about threat to his life,” he said.
Mr. Mattu said the post was being misinterpreted by the BJP leaders who were trying to quote it out of the context of the debate, which focussed on freedom of expression. Meanwhile, he put another Facebook post clarifying that his statement had been quoted out of context.
Meanwhile, the police have told BJP leaders that they would take further action on the complaint after consulting legal experts.
I am being quoted out
of context
Dinesh Ameen MattuCM’s media adviser
