The release of a controversial book about senior Congress leader and former Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah was stopped ahead of its scheduled launch on Monday, January 9, after a sessions court in Bengaluru granted an interim injunction. Even ahead of the cancellation of the event a scuffle broke out between workers of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress at the Town Hall in Bengaluru, where the book launch was scheduled.
The cover of the book, titled ‘Siddu Nijakanasugalu’ (Real dreams of Siddaramaiah), features a distorted image of former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah dressed up as Tipu Sultan holding a sword. The book, written by an author identified only through initials ‘VKP,’ was set to be launched by the state’s Higher Education Minister, CN Ashwath Narayan.
Some Congress members were taken into preventative custody by the police as they protested against the scheduled release of the book, citing alleged defamatory content. BJP SC Morcha chairperson and Member of Legislative Council Chalavadi Narayanaswamy, the invited chief guest at the book launch, announced the cancellation of the event and said, “We listen to the law... There's some legal matter and the publishers of the book will look into it.” He also said he did not know about the book’s content but raised the question why Siddaramaiah would be concerned unless he had done something wrong. “Even I don't know what's inside the book. I just came here for the launch. How does Siddaramaiah know what’s in the book? Why is he worried unless he's scared that he's done something wrong,” he said.
Earlier, Siddaramaiah had claimed that the book about him was being published with the intention of embarrassing him ahead of Assembly elections in Karnataka. He referred to the book as "totally defamatory" and stated that he was considering legal action against it. He also accused the BJP of being behind the book and compared the situation to the actions of former CM Yediyurappa and BJP MP Shobha Karandlaje, who he claimed had also dressed as Tipu Sultan and held swords in their hands. Siddaramaiah also pointed to the fact that a BJP member had written a foreword for a book about Tipu Sultan, accusing the party of hypocrisy.