BJP's Manikanta Rathod booked for 'murder' in Rajasthan 'death threat' to Mallikarjun Kharge

Rajasthan Police has booked Manikanta Rathod, a BJP candidate in upcoming Karnataka assembly poll, and local BJP MLA Madan Dilawar with charges of murder and criminal intimidation for their remarks against Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge, a senior officer said on Monday.

The FIR has been filed at Sanjay Circle Police Station at the complaint of Congress state secretary Ram Singh Kaswan.

According to Kotwali ACP Narendra Kumar, an FIR has been registered against BJP Ramganj Mandi MLA Madan Dilawar and Manikanta Rathod, a BJP contender in the upcoming Karnataka assembly election. "As one of the accused, Madan Dilawar, is a sitting MLA, the matter will be investigated by the CB-CID," said Kumar, who is also the investigating officer in the case.

According to the FIR, the two men have been booked under IPC section 302 (murder), 506 (criminal intimidation), and under sections of SC/ST Act.

Kaswan in his complaint said committing a crime is not necessary, even hatching a conspiracy is enough.

Congress had on May 6 shared an audio purportedly of Manikanta Rathod, the BJP candidate from Chittapur constituency in Kalaburagi district, in which he was heard saying in Kannada that he will wipe out "Kharge, his wife, and children." The BJP candidate is named in 40 police cases and has studied till class 8, according to the Association for Democratic Reforms, a poll-reform body.

According to Congress, in the wake of Kharge's "poisnous snake" remark for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP state general secretary Madan Dilawar had said Kharge being 80 years old can die anytime, still he would "pray to God not to take him away for at least 200 years." Uttarakhand Congress too in the same matter has approached police against Rathod.

Party's Mathura Dutt Joshi said it lodged a complaint Sunday at Dehradun Kotwali against Rathod for his alleged remarks against Kharge.

Uttarakhand Congress chief Karan Mahra, who lodged the complaint, said BJP can foresee its defeat in Karnataka and this is why its nominees were behaving like "goons."