An FIR has been registered against Union Minister Ravneet Singh Bittu for his alleged remarks against Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi over the statements he made in the US about the condition of Sikhs in India, the police said on Thursday.

The case was registered at High Grounds Police Station in Bengaluru, Karnataka based on a complaint by one of the office-bearers of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee, they said.

A police officer said: “The FIR was registered under Sections 353 (2) (making, publishing or circulating a statement or report with false information, rumours, or alarming news), 192 (wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause a riot- if rioting be committed; if not committed) and 196 (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita at High Grounds Police Station here.”

Attacking the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha over the statements about the condition of Sikhs in India, the Minister of State for Railways on Sunday said if those “manufacturing bombs” were supporting him, he is the “number one terrorist”.

Condemning the statement, the Congress had said Bittu was talking “like a senseless man.”

Earlier, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge posted a video of “his message to Prime Minister Narendra Modi” on X, highlighting the extremely objectionable, violent and indecent statements made by BJP leaders and their allies against the Leader of the Opposition.

Kharge said, “Indian culture is known throughout the world for non-violence, harmony and love.”

The Congress chief requested Modi to impose discipline and decorum on his leaders. “Instruct them to behave properly. Strict legal action should be taken for such statements so that Indian politics can be prevented from becoming degenerate. Nothing untoward happens. I trust that he will take the required action to stop these leaders from making violent statements immediately,” Kharge asserted in a video message.

“We have also written a letter on this subject, hope he will respond to that letter,” he added.

Meanwhile, responding to Kharge’s letter, BJP president JP Nadda accused Gandhi of having a history of abusing PM Modi and OBCs, and of siding with anti-India forces.

In a tit-for-tat response, Nadda cited his party’s own litany of complaints against the LoP and other Congress members for their choice of words against the Prime Minister.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday that the ongoing Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir is about choosing the future of the Union Territory, adding that urged people to cast their votes wisely and said they should ensure the political sunset of the Congress, NC and PDP, which have inflicted wounds in the region for years together.

“These elections are important to end the political legacy of the 3 families of Congress, NC and PDP which kept the state in ruins. To make this happen, the Lotus must bloom in Kashmir,” PM Modi said.

Addressing an election rally in Katra, PM Modi accused the Congress leadership of insulting Hindu gods and goddesses under a “well-thought-out conspiracy” and due to a “Naxal mindset”, and asked people “should they not be punished for this”?

Hitting out over Pakistan backing Congress’s stand on abrogation of Article 370 in the Union Territory, PM Modi said the people of Jammu and Kashmir might not be enthused by the manifesto of Congress and NC, but Pakistan seems to be celebrating it.

This was the second election rally addressed by the prime minister in Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday and third in a week. He addressed another rally in Srinagar earlier in the day. On September 14, PM Modi had addressed a rally in Doda district.

“This election is for choosing the future of Jammu and Kashmir. This election is meant to take the ‘new Jammu and Kashmir’ to new heights,” the prime minister said while urging the voters to ensure the BJP’s victory in the polls.

Last year, over two crore tourists visited Jammu and Kashmir and over 90 lakh pilgrims came “here to seek blessings of Maa Vaishno Devi,” said Prime Minister. This influx of people has immensely benefitted the locals, he added.

In the upcoming years, the tourism sector is going to further expand in the valley, which will create a ripple effect for the overall economy of the state, he said.

Modi’s rallies in Srinagar and Katra came a day after the first phase of polling in the Assembly election, covering 24 constituencies in seven south Kashmir districts and the Chenab valley region, and registering more than 61 per cent voting.

Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav on Thursday slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi after over twenty-one houses of Dalit were set on fire by miscreants in Bihar’s Nawada district over a land dispute.

While Opposition leaders pegged the number of houses set ablaze at over 80, police said about 21 houses were set on fire in Nawada district.

Nawada Sub Divisional Police Officer (SDO) Akhilesh Kumar said, “The land dispute matter is going on the court and everyone will accept the decision of the court. We received information about the incident at 7:15 pm. Around 21 houses have been burnt.”

The Rae Bareli MP said burning down an entire colony of Mahadalits in Nawada and destroying the houses of more than 80 families is highlighting the horrifying picture of injustice against the Bahujans in Bihar.

“The cries of the Dalit families who had lost their homes and property and the terror created in the deprived society by the echo of the fierce firing were also not successful in waking up the sleeping government of Bihar,” the Congress leader said in his post on X.

Hitting out at NDA government in Bihar, Gandhi said, “Such anarchist elements find shelter under the leadership of BJP and its NDA allies – they intimidate and suppress the Bahujans of India so that they cannot even demand their social and Constitutional rights.”

Questioning Prime Minister Modi’s silence, the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha said it is a seal of approval for “this big conspiracy.”

Gandhi demanded immediate and strict action against all the culprits of “this shameful crime” and to provide complete justice to the families of victims by rehabilitating them.

In a post on X in Hindi, the RJD leader lashed out at Modi and said: “In Bihar, the houses of Dalits have been burnt down under your double engine powered government. This is an incident of India. Please say a few words on this ‘Mangalraj’ that all this is happening as per the will of God and not on this the big-mouthed powerful leaders of NDA. I have no control. Also, tell me that the Chief Minister of the third largest party in Bihar has stopped speaking for months. He neither talks to the media nor to the public. Whatever he says, he speaks as written by the officials because when he speaks about himself, he starts speaking something different from somewhere else, perhaps that is why this restriction has been imposed.”

NDA is not concerned about Bihar but about the criminals, Yadav said.

Meanwhile, Union Minister and BJP ally Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) chief Chirag Paswan condemned the torching of houses of Dalits and said the state government is investigating the matter and culprits will not be spared.

“This is a sad incident. It is condemnable and also shameful. I am in touch with the State Government. First of all, it is necessary to ensure that those who have been affected should be rehabilitated and injured can be treated,” Food Processing Minister Chirag Paswan told reporters on the sidelines of World Food India 2024 event being held, in New Delhi.