Mangaluru (PTI): A complaint has been filed against Belthangady MLA Harish Poonja at Puttur town police station over his speech raising false allegations against Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.

In his complaint on Tuesday, municipal councillor Mohammed Riaz said Poonja, during the BJP’s election victory celebrations at Belthangady on May 22 had alleged that Siddaramaiah was responsible for the murder of 24 Hindu workers. He also handed over the video of the incident to the police along with the complaint.

He said such charges against the Chief Minister are condemnable and asked the police to hold an enquiry and take strict legal action against Poonja.

The audio and video clips of the speech in which he strongly criticised Hindu workers who campaigned for Congress during the Assembly elections had gone viral on social media.
"You sought a vote for Siddaramaiah who got 24 Hindu activists killed. You sought a vote for Congress which is proposing a ban on Bajrang Dal," he had allegedly said in the speech.

BJP had been claiming that during the previous tenure of Siddaramaiah between 2013 and 2018, coastal Karnataka region witnessed murders of Hindu activists. The party also alleged that the Siddaramaiah government had withdrawn cases against SDPI workers.