Bill to curb hate speech tabled in K'taka Assembly; BJP opposes

Bengaluru: The Karnataka government on Wednesday tabled a bill in the legislative assembly proposing stringent punishment for those indulging in hate speeches amid stiff resistance from the BJP. Opposition leader R Ashoka said the party would register its protest when the House takes up the proposed legislation for discussion and will block its adoption.

Political observers say one of the purposes of the bill is to rein in the Sangh Parivar outfits when necessary. Deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar said the bill had been on the government's agenda as "we need to maintain peace and law and order in the state. Hate speech is not acceptable in any civil society."

The government said it is bringing the Karnataka Hate Speech and Hate Crimes (Prevention) Bill, 2025, tabled by the home minister G Parameshwara in the ongoing session at Belagavi, to curb and prevent dissemination, publication or promotion of hate speech and crimes and prescribe punishment to such crimes and provide compensation to victims of such crimes.


BJP members opposed it when Speaker UT Khader sought the consent of the members for tabling the bill. The Opposition expressed disapproval of the proposed law. Political allies BJP and JDS comprise the Opposition bloc.

EXEMPLARY PUNISHMENT

The government has proposed stringent punishment for people making hate speeches, considering it as an act of promoting enmity between communities, or inciting violence on the grounds of religion, caste, language, gender, or region. It has also sought to make such offences non-bailable.

Those accused of hate speech, if convicted, could invite a prison term of between one and seven years with a fine of up to Rs 50,000. Conviction for a second time for a similar offence could invite a jail term of 2-10 years with a fine of Rs 1 lakh. It has also proposed compensation to victims of hate speech. The bill invokes provisions from the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, and the Information Technology Act, 2000, to deal with such instances. Law minister HK Patil said the government's move was meant to make society free of hate speeches and hoped the BJP members would agree to it.

The bill, if it becomes a law, will empower officials to order online platforms and websites to take down the content they consider could trigger "hate crime." "The designated officer, as notified by the state government, shall have the power to direct any service provider, intermediaries, person or entity to block or remove the hate crime materials from its domain including electronic media," says the bill.

Earlier, Congress MLC BK Hariprasad called for banning of Bajrang Dal after a Congress party worker was murdered in Chikmagalur. Shivakumar, the Dy CM, however, declined to react to the demand in the context of the hate speech bill.