The Karnataka Congress has registered an FIR against former minister and BJP MLA CN Ashwath Narayan for his statements against CM Siddaramaiah.Ashwath Narayan, who was higher education minister in the previous BJP government, was named in the complaint for his controversial “finish-off Siddaramaiah” remark. He had asked people to “finish off” Siddaramaiah the way two Vokkaliga chieftains Uri Gowda and Nanje Gowda – had killed 17th-century Mysuru ruler Tipu Sultan while addressing a public event this February.

A delegation of Congress leaders submitted the complaint at the Devaraja police station in Mysuru on Wednesday, and an FIR was registered under Sections 506 and 153 of the IPC, which covers intimidation and provocation.
Narayan had earlier clarified that he had only meant to say that the Congress should be defeated in the elections. “Let me make my stand clear. The words used to compare Tipu Sultan and Siddaramaiah in Mandya are casual allusions and not malicious words. But my words are being misconstrued. It wasn’t meant to hurt anyone,” he tweeted.
“Debate is an integral part of politics & essential for a healthy democracy. It is in this spirit that my words should be interpreted. It may be @siddaramaiah ‘s culture to be calling the Prime Minister a “mass murderer” and assailing the Chief Minister,” he added. “The people of the State are well aware of Siddaramaiah’s language proficiency. I was merely alluding to the fact that Congress should be defeated in this election. And, after all, our people of Mandya do not possess the brutal mentality of Tipu,” he had further said.

In a similar instance, a complaint was filed against Belthangady MLA Harish Poonja at the Puttur town police station after the leader allegedly made false allegations against CM Siddaramaiah during the BJP’s celebrations after winning the Belthangady seat, on Monday. He had alleged that Siddaramaiah was responsible for the murder of 24 Hindu workers. Municipal councillor Mohammed Riaz filed the complaint against Poonja on Tuesday.