Vijayapura MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal was addressing a rally during Shivaji Jayanti in Gurmitkal where he is said to have delivered the impugned speech. | Photo credit: FILE PHOTO
The Gurmitkal police on Monday registered a case against Vijayapura MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal for targeting a particular community in his speech during the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Jayanti program in Gurmitkal town last Saturday.
According to the FIR, which followed information provided by police constable Shivaramreddy, on Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Jayanti, a portrait of Shivaji was brought in a procession from Nagareshwar Circle near the bus stand in the city where Mr. Yatnal had delivered a speech.
Mr Yatnal, who participated in the program as the chief guest, targeted a particular community by quoting a Hindi line said by a poet, the FIR said.
The FIR also stated that Mr. Yatnal in his speech had commented on Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru saying that Gandhi was not a Rashtrapitha of India but was a Rashtrapitha of Pakistan. Nehru was not the first Prime Minister of India, but he was the “Prime Minister” of Pakistan.
Mr. Yatnal’s speech was widely circulated on social media and there were discussions about his hate speech targeting a particular community. Based on the constable’s report, an FIR was registered after receiving an opinion from legal experts, the FIR further said.
A case was registered under sections 196, 299, 302, 302, 352 and 353 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Samhita 2023.
Published – 24 Feb 2026 21:02 IST
