Police are investigating the matter and gathering evidence to determine the extent of Manikanta Narendra Rathod, a BJP leader in Kalaburagi District
NEW DELHI — A Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader in Karnataka’s Kalaburagi district has been booked for his provocative video on Facebook, allegedly calling for the complete extermination of the Muslim community and urging the killing of those accused of “Love Jihad” within eight days.
A case was registered against Manikanta Narendra Rathod, 30, after the video went viral on Sunday, triggering public outrage and raising serious concerns over communal harmony in the Kalaburagi district of the state, media reports reaching here on Monday quoted police as saying.
In the video, Rathod is purportedly heard making inflammatory remarks in the Lambani language. He further claimed that if the police were held back for just 15 minutes in Kalaburagi, a massacre of Muslims could be carried out.
The video sparked intense backlash on social media, with civil society groups, political leaders, and concerned citizens demanding Rathod’s immediate arrest. A complaint in this regard was lodged on Saturday by a political activist affiliated with the Social Democratic Party of India, Syed Aleem Ilahi, following which an FIR was registered at the Central Police Station (CEN Station).
Ilahi also posted a message on the X platform, tagging the Karnataka chief minister and senior police officials. The post read: “In a shocking video, he (Rathod) openly threatens the Muslim community, blames the entire community for individual crimes, and calls for mass violence, even saying Muslims should be finished from the root.”
Kalaburagi : BJP Chitapur MLA Candidate Manikanta Narendra Rathod has once again crossed all limits of hate and provocation. In a shocking video, he openly threatens the Muslim community, blames the entire community for individual crimes, and calls for mass violence, even saying… pic.twitter.com/KrnX9Ad1Td
— Syed Aleem Ilahi (@AleemIlahi) May 31, 2025
“Rathod allegedly uploaded a provocative video on Facebook. We are investigating the matter and gathering evidence to determine the extent of his culpability,” Kalaburagi Commissioner of Police Sharanappa SD said.
This is not the first time Rathod has faced legal trouble. Just days earlier, on May 26, a separate case was filed against him at Chitapur Police Station for making derogatory remarks against Karnataka minister and Congress leader Priyank Kharge. The complaint, lodged by Congress worker Hanumanth Soman, accused Rathod of attempting to incite public unrest.
Rathod, a former BJP candidate from the Chitapur constituency, contested the last assembly election but was defeated by Kharge. Neither Rathod nor the BJP has issued a public statement on the current allegations till now.
The incident has once again ignited debate over hate speech and political accountability in India, especially in sensitive communal contexts.
