Hindutva groups fi le complaint against KS Bhagawan

Move comes days after Bhagawan was dragged into a controversy over statements he made regarding the Ramayana

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: A complaint was filed against KS Bhagawan on Monday, days after the reputed Kannada writer and rationalist was reeled into controversy over statements he reportedly made regarding the Ramayana. Hindutva groups in Mandya are the ones who raised the complaint with the police.

While speaking at an event in Mandya on Friday, the writer was quoted to have made the “unacceptable” remarks: “There is talk about building a Rama Rajya. If one reads the Uttara Kanda of Valmiki’s Ramayana, it will become evident that (Lord) Ram was not ideal. He did not rule for 11,000 years, but for only 11 years. Ram would sit with Sita in the afternoon and spend the rest of the day drinking. He sent his wife Sita into the forest and didn’t bother about her.”

He is accused by news houses of also saying: “He chopped off the head of Shambuka, a Shudra, who was sitting in penance under a tree. How can he (Ram) be ideal?” This is not the first time Bhagawan has found himself in the middle of a controversy. In 2019, the writer had made similar remarks where he said “Lord Ram would consume intoxicants and made his wife Sita too drink.”

During the year 2021, Bhagawan got black ink smeared on him when he travelled from his hometown Mysuru to Bengaluru after being summoned by a court to attend proceedings in a private complaint. Meera Raghavandra, the attacker, had filed a complaint before the court saying the writer had made insulting and derogatory comments about the Hindu god.

Meanwhile, the police team carrying out investigations into the murder of journalist Gauri Lankesh has gone on record to reveal that Bhagawan’s name was also on the list of targets of the alleged killers.