Govt to act against BJP MLC Ravikumar for derogatory remarks against IAS officer: Deputy CM

BENGALURU: Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Tuesday said that the state government will take action against BJP MLC N Ravikumar for his derogatory comments against Kalaburagi Deputy Commissioner.

Shivakumar said that many IAS officers had met him on this issue, and they were all enraged by the BJP MLC’s comments. “Since morning, more than half a dozen IAS officers have met me. They are all in a very agitated mood. The law will take its course. The government will take action”, Shivakumar said.

He wanted the BJP leadership to react to the issue. “I want the BJP president, the Opposition leaders and the central ministers to react to it,” he said.

A political storm has erupted in the state following the controversial remark against Deputy Commissioner Fouzia Taranum, amid ongoing tensions related to the recent Chittapur incident. Addressing a protest rally organised under the BJP’s ‘Kalaburagi Chalo’ campaign on May 24, Ravikumar alleged that the district administration was functioning under the influence of the ruling Congress government.

In a statement that has since sparked widespread condemnation, he questioned the independence of the deputy commissoner and made a derogatory reference suggesting she might have “come from Pakistan.”

BJP MLC N. Ravikumar questioned if Kalaburagi DC @Fouzia_Taranum is from Pakistan or an Indian IAS officer. Targeting a Muslim woman officer like this—what else is this if not hate?@IASassociation @IPS_Association — will you stay silent?#FouziaTaranum #NRavikumar #Karnataka pic.twitter.com/pjUuzuYdLN

— लोकनायक समाज सेवा संघ® (@loknayak1) May 26, 2025

“The Kalaburagi DC office has also lost its independence. The DC madam is also listening to what they (Congress) say. I don’t know whether the DC has come from Pakistan or is an IAS officer here”, Ravikumar said, triggering backlash from progressive groups and civil society organisations, who have demanded action against him for the “insulting and communal” remarks.

Fouzia Taranum currently is the Deputy Commissioner of Kalaburagi. Though not directly involved in the political developments, her role as the administrative head of the district has come under the political spotlight amid heightened tensions.

The protest led by the BJP was held to demand the removal of Minister Priyank Kharge from the state Cabinet. The demand stems from a May 21 incident in Chittapur — Priyank Kharge’s Assembly constituency — where Congress workers allegedly laid siege to a guest house where Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council, Chalavadi Narayanswamy, was staying.

In response to the protest and Ravikumar’s remarks, Congress leader and state minister Sharan Prakash Patil on Sunday accused BJP leaders of unnecessarily provoking tensions and attempting to politicise the administration. “This is a deliberate attempt to provoke and communalise the atmosphere. Such statements against an officer performing her duties are unacceptable,” Patil said.

The incident has further deepened political fault lines in Kalaburagi, with both administrative officials and political leaders now drawn into a broader battle between the BJP and the ruling Congress over governance, accountability, and decorum in public discourse. (ANI)