Case Filed Against Congress Leader Digvijaya Singh For His Tweet On Khargone Violence

Bhopal police commissioner Makrand Deuskar told PTI that the Crime Branch police station has opened an investigation into the tweet after receiving a complaint.

Senior Congress Leader Digvijaya Singh. (Source: Getty Images)

New Delhi: After tweeting a photo of a mosque in another state while commenting on communal violence in Khargone, Madhya Pradesh, a case was filed on Tuesday against senior Congress politician Digvijaya Singh for allegedly spreading religious animosity, news agency PTI reported.

Singh shared an image of young teenagers waving a saffron flag at a mosque in a tweet on Monday morning, referring to the violence that erupted during a Ram Navami parade in Khargone. Later, he removed the tweet.

Bhopal police commissioner Makrand Deuskar told PTI that the Crime Branch police station has opened an investigation into the tweet after receiving a complaint.

The case was filed under sections 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups on the basis of religion, race, or place of birth), 295-A (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings), 465 (forgery), and 505 (2) (public mischief) of the Indian Penal Code, according to the commissioner.

Bhopal resident Prakash Mande accused the Congress Rajya Sabha member of tweeting a fake photo and tying it to the Khargone violence.

According to the complaint, the tweet may have stoked communal tensions and harmed religious unity in Madhya Pradesh.

Is it proper to raise a flag at a sacred location while wielding swords and sticks? Was a parade with weapons permitted by the Khargone administration? Will bulldozers demolish the homes of all stone-throwers, regardless of religion? Don't forget, Shivraj ji, you took an oath to lead the government fairly, said Digvijaya Singh in a tweet with a photo.

Some social media users said the photo was of a mosque in Muzaffarpur, Bihar, while BJP politicians like Bhopal (Huzur) MLA Rameshwar Sharma questioned the picture's relation to the Khargone occurrences.

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan also went to Twitter after Singh withdrew the picture, claiming that Digvijaya Singh had posted a photo of youngsters waving the saffron flag at a sacred site outside of Madhya Pradesh.

श्री @digvijaya_28 ने एक धार्मिक स्थल पर युवक द्वारा भगवा झंडा फहराने का फोटो सहित ट्वीट किया है, वह मध्यप्रदेश का नहीं है।श्री दिग्विजय सिंह का यह ट्वीट प्रदेश में धार्मिक उन्माद फैलाने का षड्यंत्र है और प्रदेश को दंगे की आग में झोंकने की साजिश है, जिसे बर्दाश्त नहीं किया जाएगा।

— Shivraj Singh Chouhan (@ChouhanShivraj) April 12, 2022

According to Chouhan, the tweet is a plot to incite religious fervour in the state and provoke disturbances, which will not be accepted.

Singh "wants to fuel communal tension by spreading confusion," according to MP Home Minister Narottam Mishra, and the government will seek legal advice on what steps to take.

On Sunday evening, a curfew was imposed in Khargone city after arson was sparked by stone-pelting during a Ram Navami parade.

(With PTI Inputs)