‘Even if you are minister, you are still a Dalit,’ says death threat letter by ‘Manuvadis’ to Priyank Kharge

A day after receiving the letter, the IT and BT minister’s special officer Kesavmurty registered a complaint before the Vikasa Soudha Police on 13 March.

Apart from this, Priyank Kharge claimed, he had received multiple threat calls during the BJP regime. He blamed Manuvadis for sending the threat letter.

Also Read: JD(S) to field former CM HD Kumaraswamy in Mandya

FIR registered

Based on the complaint, the police have registered an FIR under the Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Ordinance 2014 and sections 506 and 204 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and launched the investigation.

In the complaint, Kesavmurty said: “In the letter, the unknown miscreants said to Kharge that even if you anointed and offered prayers, you will still be called Holeya (SC).”

“You are Holeya and remain as the Holeya itself. Even if you ask your mother, she will say that you are Holeya. Even if you wear whatever attire and jewellery and become an MLA or a Minister, you will still be a Holeya. Your arrogance will only work in the Holeya-Madiga locality….. We will encounter you in our hometown Kalaburagi and feed the stray dogs and vultures. Don’t consider the Lamani community lightly here,” the miscreants wrote in the letter,

The unknown miscreants also issued a rape threat to Priyank Kharge’s wife.

South First tried contacting Bangalore DCP Central Shekhar T but his phone was switched off. However, the Vidhan Soudha police said that his phone was switched off following persistent calls from the public seeking tickets for Indian Premier League (IPL) matches.

Meanwhile, the on-duty police inspector did not have information about the case.

Also Read: Congress says it received fresh I-T notices of over ₹1,800 crore

‘Suspects involvement of Manuvadis’

Priyank Kharge said that he was not receiving death threats for the first time.

He told South First: “I had previously received three threat calls during the BJP regime. And this is the second time that I received a letter threatening to kill me.”

“I had filed complaints but could not take it to the logical end as the phone calls were traced to foreign countries such as the US,” he said.

“This letter portrays intimidating tactics. Casteist slurs and vulgar language have been used in the letter against me, my parents and CM Siddaramaiah as well.”

“The language is so offensive that I cannot talk about the content. There appears to be an involvement of Manuvadis behind this act. They always have intolerance towards certain communities. My office has registered a case before Vidhana Soudha police. There are three different signatures on the letter. But we couldn’t conclude the identity of the miscreants,” added the minister.

On whether BJP leader Manikanth Rathod — who contested from Chittapur in the 2023 assembly polls — was involved, he said: “He had openly threatened me thrice during a presser at Kalaburagi district. This occurred during the previous BJP regime. The then ruling party rewarded him with the party ticket to contest in the Assembly polls.”

“On the other hand, the MP (Gulbarga) keeps talking about free and fair elections. We have initiated efforts to take it to the logical end,” concluded Kharge.

In post on X, Priyank Kharge reiterated his suspicion of the involvement of the Manuvadis behind the threat letter.

Recently, received another love letter from Manuvaadis asking me to lay low and not speak up as I am a Dalit.
The letter explicitly says that I might become an MLA or a Minister, but I am and will always remain a Dalit.

The letter, besides abusing my family, also states that…

— Priyank Kharge / ಪ್ರಿಯಾಂಕ್ ಖರ್ಗೆ (@PriyankKharge) March 28, 2024

(Edited by Muhammed Fazil)