Shivamogga Police have registered a case against Bharatiya Kisan Union leader Rakesh Tikait on charges of delivering a provocative speech. Kote Police in the town suo motu registered the case on Tuesday.
Mr. Tikait, who is leading the protests against the farm laws in Delhi, was in Shivamogga on March 20 to address the first Raitha Mahapanchayat of south India. In his speech, he had called upon farmers of Karnataka to intensify the protest against the farm laws and block entries into Bengaluru with tractors and other vehicles.
The police booked the case under Section 153 of the IPC three days after the event stating that his speech could provoke violence.
Along with Mr. Tikait, Yudhvir Singh and Dr. Darshan Pal had attended the rally at Science Field on the day. The case has been registered against Tikait alone.
The organizers of Maha Panchayat have condemned the police action. K.L. Ashok, one of the organizers who invited Tikait to Shivamogga, said the police booked the case as they had pressure from the State Government. “Earlier, many senior leaders of BJP including party’s state president Nalin Kumar Kateel, Lok Sabha member Shobha Karandlaje and RDPR Minister K.S. Eshwarappa had given statements inciting violence. However, the police remained mute spectators. We will protest against the police”, he said.
K.P. Sripal, an advocate and one of the organizers, said there was nothing provocative in his speech. “Tikait had given a call for intensifying the protest against the anti-farm laws. The police have succumbed to pressure from people in power in the state”, he commented.