Karnataka: BJP leader makes ‘Pak’ reference to IAS officer, lands in soup

Bengaluru: Deputy CM DK Shivakumar on Tuesday said the state government would stand by the woman IAS officer targeted by a BJP MLC with a Pakistan reference in a repeat of the Madhya Pradesh episode where a minister’s remarks on Col Sofiya Qureshi triggered a widespread backlash.

In Karnataka, BJP MLC and the party chief whip in the Legislative Council N Ravikumar has landed in a soup with a Pakistan reference against an IAS officer. Shivakumar said the government would take legal action against the MLC and he would expect the BJP to react to his comments on the officer.

The Dy CM said a group of IAS officers met him in the morning and discussed the issue with him.

The Kalaburagi Police, in a separate development, registered a case against Ravikumar on Tuesday for his references to the Deputy Commissioner Fauzia Tarannum, a 2015-batch IAS officer.

Ravikumar had, during a recent protest in Kalaburgi, said the Deputy Commissioner's office had lost independence as she took orders from the minister Priyank Kharge, wondering if she was an IAS officer or someone who came from Pakistan. "The way you are clapping shows she has come from Pakistan," he said.

The comments invited rebuke from the IAS Officers Association which not only sought an apology from the BJP leader, but also legal action from the government against him.

The Association, in a statement, called Tarannum an officer of impeccable integrity with an exemplary track record and deep dedication to public service. Such comments, it said, would cause severe mental trauma to officers.