'Like A Pomeranian': Karnataka BJP MLA Booked For Derogatory Remark Against Davanagere SP

BJP legislator BP Harish faces legal action for comparing Davanagere SP Uma Prashanth to a "dog" subservient to the Shamanur family, a Congress stronghold.

This is the third incident in recent months where a woman bureaucrat in Karnataka has faced public insult from a politician.

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BJP legislator BP Harish has landed in legal trouble after likening Davanagere Superintendent of Police (SP) Uma Prashanth to a pet "dog” during a press conference, sparking outrage across Karnataka. The remarks were made earlier this week at a programme organised by the Reporters’ Guild in Davanagere, where Harish accused the senior police officer of showing undue deference to the influential Shamanur family, a Congress stronghold in the district.

He alleged that at public functions, the officer “waits at the gates for members of the Shamanur family and behaves like a Pomeranian dog of their household”, reported India Today. 

The Shamanur family wields significant political clout in the region: senior Congress MLA Shamanur Shivashankarappa and his son SS Mallikarjun, the Minister for Mines, Geology and Horticulture, as reported by NDTV.

Following a formal complaint from SP Uma Prashanth, the KTJ Nagar police registered a case against Harish under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including provisions relating to criminal intimidation, insulting the modesty of a woman, and obstructing a public servant from performing official duties.

Pattern Of Abuse Against Women Officials

This is the third incident in recent months where a woman bureaucrat in Karnataka has faced public insult from a politician. Just last week, senior Congress MLA RV Deshpande came under fire for making a flippant remark to journalist Radha Hiregoudar in Uttara Kannada district. When asked about the lack of a hospital in Joida taluk, Deshpande retorted that her “delivery could be done in Haliyal,” and repeated the comment with a smile and a wink, drawing sharp criticism, as per reports.

Women’s groups and civil society organisations have condemned the repeated instances of gendered insults from elected representatives, demanding stricter accountability measures.