Karnataka seer Kumara Chandrashekaranatha Swamy calls to revoke voting rights for Muslims, FIR lodged

Bengaluru: Karnataka Police on Friday filed an FIR against Kumara Chandrashekaranatha Swamy, a prominent Vokkaliga seer, for making inflammatory remarks calling for the disenfranchisement of Muslims in India.

The seer had, however, apologised for his statement later.

The FIR was lodged by the Upparpet police following a complaint under Section 299 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), which accuses the seer of making statements that could disrupt communal harmony.

The controversy erupted after the seer, who heads the Vishwa Vokkaligara Mahasamsthana Mutt, spoke at a protest organised by the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh in Bengaluru earlier this week.

During the protest, which opposed notices from the Waqf Board to farmers, he suggested that Muslims should be deprived of their voting rights due to politicians' "vote bank politics."

He said such an approach would foster peace and help eliminate vote bank politics. The comments quickly went viral, drawing widespread condemnation across the state.

In response to the backlash, the seer issued an apology on Thursday. He reaffirmed that Muslims are citizens of India and should not be treated otherwise, urging an end to the controversy.

The matter remains under investigation, with law enforcement agencies assessing whether the remarks were an attempt to incite communal unrest.