Nagarajaiah is a senior scholar on Jainism
MANDYA/BENGALURU: Writers and opposition parties expressed outrage on Friday after it emerged that noted Kannada scholar and poet Hampa Nagarajaiah was summoned to a police station in Mandya and asked to explain his alleged remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
A BJP worker, Ravi, claimed in a complaint that while addressing a Kannada literary meet in Mandya on January 17, Nagarajaiah, popularly known as Hampana, mentioned the farmers’ protest outside Delhi and likened Modi to mythological figure Duryodhana. Police registered a noncognisable case and called Nagarajaiah to record his statement on Thursday.
Mandya SP Parashuram told TOI that the scholar had rejected the charges. “In his statement, Nagarajaiah denied the allegations that he made derogatory remarks against the prime minister. Later, we closed the case,’’ he added.