Updated May 27th, 2019 at 22:14 IST
Vishvawani editor Vishweshwar Bhat stands by his article alleging 'Nikhil Gowda's rampage against grandfather Deve Gowda post-Mandya loss' after FIR filed against him for criminal defamation
Rebutting the FIR filed against the Kannada Daily - Vishwavani's editor Vishweshwar Bhat for publishing alleged derogatory remarks about Karnataka CM Kumaraswamy's son - Nikhil Gowda, Bhat has said that a dangerous precedent for democracy had been while adding the media could not be controlled nowadays, speaking to ANI.
Advertisement
Rebutting the FIR filed against the Kannada Daily - Vishwavani's editor Vishweshwar Bhat for publishing alleged derogatory remarks about Karnataka CM Kumaraswamy's son - Nikhil Gowda, Bhat has said that a dangerous precedent for democracy had been while adding the media could not be controlled nowadays, speaking to ANI.
He also said that he would seek legal aid if necessary as he was convinced of the authenticity of his article while adding that he had not committed a crime and had hence not taken anticipatory bail to evade arrest.
Earlier on Saturday, Bhat had published a source-based article in which he had alleged that Nikhil Kumaraswamy had gone on a rampage against his grandfather and JD(S) chief H D Deve Gowda after his Mandya Lok Sabha loss to late Kannada superstar Ambareesh's wife Sumalatha Ambareesh who contested as an independent by a margin of 1,25,876 votes.
The article also alleged that Nikhil was unhappy that the family party had not done enough to ensure his victory at the beginning of his political career. It also alleged that Nikhil had indulged in violence at a 5-star hotel in Mysuru.
Following the release of the article, Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy rushed to his son's aide rubbishing the report, citing it brought to attention the 'pain of being a father'.
(The news published on Nikhil Kumaraswamy today is an unrealistic and embarrassing story. The news which is killing Nikhil's reputation has brought the editor's attention to the pain of being a father. My request is that the media should not play with emotions through such lies)
Apart from posting on Twitter, the Chief Minister also doubled down on Bhat, as a complaint has been filed against Bhat for criminal breach of trust, criminal defamation, forgery, fraud, intentional insult to breach peace amongst others, according to sources.
This FIR led to Karnataka BJP tweet out its support for Bhat by calling the complaint a 'witch hunt.'
The Congress-JD(S) combination managed to win only 2 seats while the NDA swept 26 seats in the state in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
Advertisement
Published May 27th, 2019 at 21:59 IST