By Sagay Raj: A Dalit activist in Mandya district of Karnataka was arrested for his post on social media that criticised state home minister G Parameshwar. Shivraj Maraliga, a Dalit leader in Mandya’s Madura taluk, called Congress MLA G Parameshwar an ‘inefficient man’ and said the lawmaker has ‘relations with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)’, the parent organisation of the BJP.
“G Parameshwar is an inefficient man. He couldn’t save his own son. He didn’t uphold Ambedkar’s principles. Now, he has a relationship with the RSS. What is the secret behind this relationship? Whoever has guts, answer this,” Shivraj’s post on social media read.
After the post went viral, Congress leader KM Doddy registered a complaint and Shivraj was booked under section 153 of the Indian Penal Code (making an attempt to promote any sort of conflict or enmity between various groups on the basis of religion). The Dalit leader was arrested by KM Doddy police based on the complaint.
ALSO READ | Karnataka school teacher suspended minutes after sharing post criticising Siddaramaiah govt
Last month, a teacher of a state-run lower primary school in Karnataka was suspended for his Facebook posts that criticised CM Siddaramaiah for his policies. The teacher commented that CM Siddaramaiah could promise so many freebies because the state’s debt always rose when he helmed the government.
In a Facebook post, Shanthamurthy said, “What else can you do without giving freebies”. In his post, the school teacher stated that loans incurred by CMs from the time of Krishna to Shettar was Rs 71,331 crore, but it touched Rs 2,42,000 crore during Siddaramaiah’s tenure (2013-18).
“Shantamurthy, a suspended teacher, had violated the government service rules by mentioning the debts incurred during the previous governments while Siddaramaiah was taking oath as the new chief minister on Saturday,” read the suspension order.
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