The Bengaluru Police on Wednesday, 13 September, registered a case against Aaj Tak anchor Sudhir Chaudhary for “spreading false and communally inflammatory news against the Karnataka government” in connection with his show aired on Monday, 11 September.
What happened? Chaudhary, in his show, said that the Karnataka government’s commercial vehicle subsidy scheme is leaving out “poor Hindus” and is only meant to “appease minorities” in the state, the First Information Report (FIR) filed at Sheshadripuram police station stated.
What is the case? The case was registered against Chaudhury, Aaj Tak‘s editor-in-chief, and the ‘organiser’ of the news channel, the FIR accessed by The Quint further said.
They were booked under Sections 505 (making statements conducting public mischief) and 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on the grounds of religion) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Why you need to read on: The FIR was registered based on a complaint by a Karnataka Minorities Development Corporation official who claimed that Chaudhary’s statements “instigated hatred to create an atmosphere of unrest and communal riots.”
The bone of contention: The scheme in question, called the Swavalambi Sarathi Scheme, gives 50 percent subsidy to people from religious minorities with a household income of less than Rs 4.5 lakh to purchase commercial vehicles, such as taxis, goods vehicles, and autorickshaws.
The benefits can be availed by people belonging to the Sikh, Muslim, Christian, Parsi, Jain, and Buddhist communities.
This story was originally published in thequint.com. Read the full story here