The Bengaluru city civil court stayed the release of the book titled тАШSiddu Nija KanasugaluтАЩ on Monday after a petition was filed by Congress MLA Yathindra Siddaramaiah, the son of the Leader of Opposition and former Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah.
The book, authored by Rohith Chakrathirtha, was to be released on Monday afternoon by Karnataka higher education minister CN Ashwath Narayan, and BJP MLC Chalavadi Narayanaswamy was the chief guest. Chakrathirtha earlier headed the stateтАЩs textbooks revision committee, which the government disbanded after protests over the new textbooks.
In May this year, the revision committee headed by writer Rohith Chakrathirtha kicked up a row after reports emerged that chapters on freedom fighter Bhagat Singh, Mysore ruler Tipu Sultan, Lingayat social reformer Basavanna, among others were allegedly been removed from the syllabus.
According to people aware of the developments, the book contained writings on the alleged тАЬmisruleтАЭ during the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government in the state between 2013 to 2018and his тАЬappeasement politicsтАЭ.
It also reportedly highlights controversial and communally sensitive issues and incidents during the former chief ministerтАЩs tenure.
The Karnataka Congress on Sunday had lodged a complaint at the SJ Park police station in Bengaluru, demanding that the police stop the book release at the Town Hall in the city on Monday.
Soorya Mukundaraj, general secretary of state Congress legal cell, in the complaint, alleged that the book contains derogatory, imaginary and provocative writings on Siddaramaiah. Mukundaraj also said the book had a distorted image of Siddaramaiah on its cover page.
The posters of the book launch event slated on Monday showed copies of books with a picture of Siddaramaiah wearing an attire resembling the 18th-century ruler of erstwhile Mysuru Kingdom, Tipu Sultan, and holding a sword on its cover.
According to the poster, Narayan was supposed to release the book. тАЬI appreciate the effort to find answers to many questions along with revealing many sensitive issues through the book тАЬSiddu NijakanasugaluтАЭ. I am going to participate in the public launch of this book,тАЭ Ashwath Narayan had said, tweeting about the event on Sunday.
Hitting out at the BJP, Mukundaraj said that the invitees have a track record of sharing false messages on social media and targeting one particular community to disturb law and order in the state. тАЬThis time also, there is an intention to stir communal peace by projecting Siddaramaiah in a certain way, which leads to communal disturbance in the society,тАЭ Mukundaraj stated.
тАЬIf permission is given for this programme, it should be withdrawn, and direction should be given for the organisers to cancel the book release programme,тАЭ Mukundaraj further said in the complaint.
Meanwhile, Siddaramaiah on Monday said the book intended to humiliate him ahead of the assembly elections in the state next year and called it тАЬdefamatoryтАЭ. тАЬTo humiliate me ahead of the elections, they are bringing out a book. It is defamatory. I will see what is to be done legally,тАЭ Siddaramaiah said.
тАЬI donтАЩt know, everything is yellow for those with jaundiced eyes. Who wore the dress like Tipu Sultan and held a sword in their hands? It was Yediyurappa and Shobha Karandlaje. Who wrote the foreword for Sheikh AliтАЩs book on Tipu, isnтАЩt it duality?тАЭ Siddaramaiah asked, alleging BJPтАЩs role behind the book.
Recently, Siddaramaiah courted controversy after his comments against chief minister Basavaraj Bommai.
On January 4, he called Bommai the тАШPMтАЩs puppyтАЩ at a meeting in the Ballari district. This resulted in a war of words between Congress and the BJP, with Bommai saying the former chief ministerтАЩs words mirror his personality. Siddaramaiah later claimed he did not mean to insult Bommai and only wanted to underline his тАЬspinelessтАЭ nature.
Siddaramaiah also lashed out at the ruling BJP after the southern stateтАЩs tableau was dropped from this yearтАЩs Republic Day parade. тАЬIt is unfortunate that Karnataka will not be participating in the Republic Day parade this year. Rejection of KarnatakaтАЩs tableaux reflects how serious Karnataka BJP is about upholding the pride of our state,тАЭ the leader of the opposition said.
