Bengaluru, November 29: The Bengaluru Police on Wednesday lodged an FIR against former Chief Ministers of Karnataka - Siddaramaiah and HD Kumaraswamy - on charges of sedition and defamation. The FIR was filed based on an order by a lower court. Other leaders who were booked by the police included - Parameshwar, DK Shivakumar and Dinesh Gundu Rao. A total of 23 Congress and Janata Dal-Secularr (JDS) leaders named in the FIR. The case was registered under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) including sections 217, 176, 121, 177 and 153A. HD Kumaraswamy Gets Emotional While Campaigning For Upcoming Bypolls in Karnataka.

The case was registered against the opposition leaders in Karnataka for protesting outside the Income Tax Department Office in Bengaluru before the Lok Sabha elections.A social activist from Tumkur Mallikarjuna filed the complaint alleging that the then CM Kumaraswamy had leaked information about I-T raids to the media before the actual raids could be conducted. Mallikarjun also alleged that the leaders called I-T officials “BJP agents”. BJP Complaints to EC Over Former Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah’s Comment on Hirekerur Bypoll Candidate BC Patil.

According to a report published in The News Minute, former senior police officials were also booked along with political leaders. On March 27 this year, Congress and JD(S) leaders, including the two former Chief Ministers, staged a protest outside the Income Tax Department office. They had accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of using central agencies to target opposition leaders.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 29, 2019 10:11 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).