Giriraj Singh

Patna, June 8: A complaint case was filed today against animal and fish resources minister Giriraj Singh for drawing parallels between Ranvir Sena chief Brahmeshwar Singh alias Mukhiya and Mahatma Gandhi.

Mukesh Kumar, a resident of Bhagalpur, filed a complaint case in the court of the Bhagalpur chief judicial magistrate R.C. Malviya alleging that drawing parallels between the two personalities was wrong and it amounted to defamation. The court admitted his complaint petition and posted it for hearing on June 22.

Kumar, who has done research on “Gandhian thought” from Tilka Manjhi Bhagalpur University, claimed in the petition that the BJP minister issued a statement in Bhagalpur that Singh believed in non-violence and was a follower of Gandhian thoughts. “How a person charged with carrying out a series of carnages in the state and killing 277 people, including women and children, can be called Gandhiwadi (follower of Gandhi),” he asked.

Kumar said by issuing such a statement Giriraj attempted to demean Gandhi. He cited the newspaper clippings of the minister’s statement to substantiate his claim.

Kumar’s counsel Sanjay Modi said the complaint has been filed under Section 153A (provocation by giving speech to cause riot) and 153B (promoting enmity among different groups on the grounds of religion, race and language) of Criminal Procedure Code.