Karnataka Police has registered a case against Union Minister Ananthkumar Hegde for allegedly making derogatory remarks against Chief Minister Siddaramaiah recently, PTI reported. The FIR was registered in Mysuru on Wednesday under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code, including for promoting enmity between different groups and intentional insult with intent to breach peace.

Hegde is believed to have made the remarks on November 18 while addressing a gathering in Karnataka’s Belgavi district. “For vote and seat, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will even lick others’ boots,” the minister of state for skill development and entrepreneurship had reportedly said.

District Congress President BJ Vijayakumar told The News Minute, “We have filed a complaint after Hegde called Siddaramaiah a bootlicker in a speech in Belagavi. Even before that, he had made controversial statements in Kundapur comparing Tipu Sultan to Kasab.”

Congress workers alleged that they had attempted to file a case against Hegde on the day he made the statement, but the Mysuru Police had refused to register it. The Judicial Magistrate First Class then directed the Mysuru police to register an FIR against the Union minister.