The Bengaluru police summoned Vokkaliga seer Kumara Chandrashekaranatha Swami on Saturday (November 30), asking him to appear before them for questioning on December 2. The Upparpet police, who had earlier booked the FIR against the seer for his speech demanding “disenfranchisement”. Muslims,” asked him to appear before them on December 2 at 11 a.m.

The move is likely to trigger a controversy and confrontation between the BJP and the Congress government in the state. Earlier, the BJP had warned of “consequences” if the seer was troubled by his statement aimed at “disenfranchising Muslims”.

The police on Friday filed an FIR against Chandrashekaranatha Swami following a complaint filed by one Syed Abbas in this regard.

The seer heads the Vishwa Vokkaligara Mahasamsthana Math, and the statements were made during a November 26 protest in Bangalore, organized by the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh, a farmers’ organization linked to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), to condemn the opinion of the Waqf Council. to farmers.

During his speech, Chandrashekaranatha Swami said, “Politicians are indulging in vote bank politics and appeasement of Muslims. Therefore, Muslims should be deprived of exercising their right to vote. This should be done, and an end to vote bank politics would contribute to the progress of the country.” He also falsely claimed that Pakistan did not allow people of other religions, except the Muslim majority, to vote, then added that if this were adopted in India, Muslims would be left alone and “all the world could live in peace.”

The police filed an FIR under section 299 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) against the seer. The complaint said the seer’s statement was provocative and threatened to disrupt communal harmony in the society.