Ravikumar’s comments come in the wake of other recent incendiary statements by BJP leaders across the country in recent weeks.
Published May 26, 2025 | 4:35 PM ⚊ Updated May 26, 2025 | 6:32 PM
BJP MLC N Ravi Kumar draws flak for derogatory remark against Karnataka chief secretary
Synopsis: BJP MLC in Karnataka, N Ravikumar, has sparked widespread outrage after making a communal remark suggesting that Kalaburagi Deputy Commissioner Fouzia Taranam might be “from Pakistan” due to her Muslim identity. Minister Priyank Kharge condemned the remark and accused the BJP of repeatedly invoking Pakistan and targeting Muslims. The incident follows a pattern of inflammatory statements by BJP leaders after Operation Sindoor, drawing criticism for fuelling communal tensions.
A Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Karnataka leader has triggered controversy with derogatory remarks targeting Kalaburagi Deputy Commissioner Fouzia Taranam, implying that her Muslim identity means could be “from Pakistan” and allegedly acting on Congress orders.
At the BJP’s ‘Kalaburagi Chalo’ event – organised to protest the alleged confinement of MLC Chalavadi Narayanaswamy during the BJP’s Tiranga Yatra in Chittapur – MLC and Chief Whip of the Opposition in the Karnataka Legislative Council, N Ravikumar, said:
“The DC office has lost its freedom now. Despite being DC, madam is working on the instructions of the Congress government and leaders. I don’t know if she has come from Pakistan or she is an IAS officer of India. Since I am hearing your claps, I am assuming she has come here from Pakistan.”
BJP spokesperson Prakash Sheshagiri Rao declined to comment on Ravi Kumar’s statements.
“I don’t know about the statements he has made and I would not like to comment on it,” he told South First.
An FIR has been registered against Ravikumar at Station Bazar Police Station in Kalaburagi, following a complaint filed by social worker Sri Dattatreya. The case has been filed under Sections 197 (promoting enmity), 224 (insulting public servant), 299 (outraging religious feelings), 302 (defiling place of worship), 351 (criminal intimidation), and 353 (defamation) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, as well as Section 3(1)(r) of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.
Dattatreya alleged that Ravikumar had also insulted three police officers – Chandrashekar Thigadi, Nataraja Nade, and Shankar Gowda Patil – by claiming they were incapable of performing their official duties.
“They (BJP leaders) have spread rumours with the intention of creating panic among the public or inciting individuals of any class or community, have incited hatred against Muslims, and have spread false information by calling police officers ‘slaves’. They have also verbally abused the Kalaburagi District In-charge Minister, Priyank Kharge, and our community,” the complaint reads.
The IAS Officers’ Association has expressed its support for Kalaburagi DC Fouzia Tarannum. In a statement, it condemned Ravikumar’s remarks and demanded an apology.
“The IAS Officers’ Association unequivocally condemns the deplorable and unacceptable comments made by Shri Ravi Kumar, Member of the Legislative Council, during a public function against the Deputy Commissioner of Kalaburagi,” the statement read.
“We also urge the authorities to register a case under the relevant legal provisions for the deliberate dissemination of misinformation and for attempting to denigrate the stature of an officer holding the responsible office of District Magistrate.”
Ravikumar’s comments come amid a series of incendiary statements made by BJP leaders across the country in recent weeks.
Ravikumar’s comments come in the wake of other recent incendiary statements by BJP leaders across the country in recent weeks.
Earlier this week, BJP Rajya Sabha MP Ram Chander Jangra claimed that widows of victims of the Pahalgam terror attack “lacked spirit” and “folded their hands and pleaded” instead of resisting attackers to save their husbands.
Similarly, Madhya Pradesh Minister Kunwar Vijay Shah sparked outrage earlier this month by referring to Colonel Sofiya Qureshi, who had taken part in the early briefings on Operation Sindoor, as a “sister from the same community” the Pahalgam attackers. Shah later apologised.
Karnataka Rural Development Panchayati Raj IT & BT minister and Kalaburagi’s District In-Charge, Priyank Kharge, condemned Ravikumar’s remarks, suggesting that the BJP leaders were obsessed with Pakistan.
“The statement of BJP MLC Ravikumar regarding the District Magistrate of Kalaburagi is highly condemnable. If the BJP leaders don’t tell the name of Pakistan, they will not digest what they have eaten, and they will even remember Pakistan in their dreams while sleeping,” he said.
“The knowledge of BJP leaders does not go beyond Muslims and Pakistan. The Pakistan-loving BJP members have been using the name of Pakistan against political leaders for so long, now their tongue has become even longer and they are calling the officials from Pakistan.”
ಬಿಜೆಪಿ ನಾಯಕರಿಗೆ ಪಾಕಿಸ್ತಾನದ ಹೆಸರು ಹೇಳದಿದ್ದರೆ ತಿಂದಿದ್ದು ಜೀರ್ಣ ಆಗುವುದಿಲ್ಲ, ರಾತ್ರಿ ನಿದ್ದೆಯಲ್ಲೂ ಪಾಕಿಸ್ತಾನ ಪಾಕಿಸ್ತಾನ ಎಂದು ಕನವರಿಸುತ್ತಾರೋ ಏನೋ.
ಕಲಬುರಗಿಯ ಜಿಲ್ಲಾಧಿಕಾರಿಗಳ ಬಗೆಗಿನ ಬಿಜೆಪಿಯ ವಿಧಾನ ಪರಿಷತ್ ಸದಸ್ಯ ರವಿಕುಮಾರ್ ಅವರ ಹೇಳಿಕೆ ಅತ್ಯಂತ ಖಂಡನೀಯ.
ಪಾಕಿಸ್ತಾನ ಪ್ರೇಮಿ ಬಿಜೆಪಿಗರು ಇಷ್ಟು ದಿನ ರಾಜಕೀಯ ನಾಯಕರ… pic.twitter.com/hYfHvlawtS
— Priyank Kharge / ಪ್ರಿಯಾಂಕ್ ಖರ್ಗೆ (@PriyankKharge) May 26, 2025
Kharge further accused Ravikumar of undermining officers’ morale and stressed Fouzia Taranam’s credentials.
“Ravi, who is trying to undermine the morale of the officers – the Deputy Commissioner of Kalaburagi passed the IAS (Indian Administrative Service) and came to serve the country and the people,” Kharge added.
“President Droupadi Murmu even presented the Best Election Officer award to Kalaburagi Deputy Commissioner Fauzia Taranam. She is not someone like you who claimed greatness and got a position by becoming a slave to the RSS.”
Comparing Ravikumar’s remarks to Shah’s, Kharge accused BJP leaders of insulting officers and soldiers in their “arrogance”.
“People like you who do not have the minimum common sense of how to speak to whom are a stain on Karnataka politics. There is no difference between the statement of BJP’s Vijay Shah, who called Sophia Qureshi, an army officer working for the country, a sister of terrorists because of her religion, and Ravi Kumar’s statement,” he said.
“The people will teach a lesson to the arrogance of the BJP, who are addicted to insulting the officers and soldiers who work for the people day and night.”
(Edited by Dese Gowda)
