Police in southern India’s Karnataka state have registered a case against legislator Basangouda Patil Yatnal after a video circulated online showing him saying Dalit women should not be allowed to offer floral tributes to goddess Chamundeshwari.
The video, which surfaced on social media on Wednesday, appears to show Yatnal stating that only women from the “Sanatan religion” may take part in the ritual. He is also heard criticising Chief Minister Siddaramaiah for permitting Booker Prize-winning author Banu Mushtaq to inaugurate this year’s Dasara festivities in Mysuru.
“Those who offer floral tributes to mother Chamundi should be from the Sanatan religion. Even ordinary Dalit women are not allowed to do so,” Yatnal is heard saying. He alleges that Siddaramaiah has sought to “defile goddess Chamundeshwari” by allowing Mushtaq, a Muslim, to preside over the event.
The remarks, allegedly made at Koppal on Monday, drew immediate condemnation once the footage went viral. Dalit activist Mallikarjun Pujar lodged a complaint, after which police filed a First Information Report (FIR) under sections relating to derogatory comments against women and promoting enmity.
Yatnal, a long-time BJP member who was expelled from the party in March, has since described the video as doctored and politically motivated. He has not yet commented publicly on the case filed against him.
Karnataka Information Technology Minister Priyank Kharge, himself from a Dalit community, condemned Yatnal’s derogatory statement. “Isn’t it with this very same attitude that the President, Droupadi Murmu, was excluded from the Ram Mandir inauguration? Isn’t it with this same attitude that former President Shri Ram Nath Kovind was denied entry into the temple?” he posted on X.
The controversy adds to tensions within Karnataka’s ruling and opposition camps. Analysts say the issue has become politically charged ahead of upcoming local polls, with caste, religion and festival politics converging.
Police say they are reviewing the authenticity of the video as part of their investigation. No arrests have been made so far.
