A special court for elected representatives in Bengaluru has issued a non-bailable warrant against BJP MLA from Vijayapura Basanagouda Patil Yatnal on Wednesday after the legislator failed to appear before the court in a case related to a personal jibe made against the wife of Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao.
Yatnal, who is known for his inflammatory speeches, was to appear before the special court over his alleged remark that the minister had “half Pakistan in his house” referring to the minister’s wife, Tabassum (Tabu Rao), who is a Muslim.
Last April, during the Lok Sabha polls, Yatnal had made the derogatory statement while criticising Dinesh Gundu Rao for his tweet linking BJP to the Rameshwaram Café blast. Yatnal, while reacting to the minister’s tweet, had said, “There is a half Pakistan in Gundu Rao’s house, so it’s his habit to give anti-national statements.”
Annoyed at her name being unnecessarily dragged into the controversy, Tabu Rao put out a social media post condemning the “habitual offender” and also clarified that her Indianness could not be questioned ever. She also complained to the Election Commissioner, calling the remark “slanderous and communally divisive”.
She then filed a criminal defamation case against the former minister. Accordingly, the Bengaluru police had registered an FIR against Yatnal under section 153B of the IPC.
On October 16, special court judge, Justice K.N. Shivakumar, issued a non-bailable warrant after Yatnal failed to appear before the court and posted the case for October 28.