A day after a court ordered registering an FIR against him for his statement during a Kabaddi match that he lost Rs 500 bet with the Deputy Commissioner, Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara on Wednesday said, “It seems I cannot crack jokes”.
The Minister said his utterance during the match was casual and was not meant to promote betting.
“I had said so casually during a Kabaddi match. In the countryside, we speak casually sometimes. Of course, it is wrong in the eyes of the law, but what is important is the context in which I had said that,” Parameshwara told reporters here.
“Had I asked people to bet on the game and promoted betting, that would not be proper,” he said.
“But it is a pure lie to say that I, being someone holding an important position, am promoting illegal activities. It all depends on how you perceive it,” he said.
The Minister said the matter of betting was over then and there itself, once the game was over, but it was raked up after a private individual filed a complaint in the court.
“It appears that I cannot even crack jokes, but I respect the law. When I am holding a portfolio that protects law and order, I have to respect the law. I have now left it to the law to take its course,” Parameshwara said.
When reporters asked him why he could not explain the context to the court, the Minister said he had not received any notice.
“I would have explained to the court not to take the matter seriously had I received a notice. All of a sudden, the order was passed,” he said.
The 42nd Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Court recently directed police to initiate a probe following a private complaint filed by H R Nagabhushan.
The court also instructed Kodigehalli police in Tumakuru to conduct a detailed investigation.
According to sources, during a state-level pre-university kabaddi tournament in Tumakuru recently, Dakshina Kannada defeated Vijayapura 36-26 in the boys’ final.
After presenting the prize, Parameshwara jocularly remarked, “I lost Rs 500. I had placed a bet with the Deputy Commissioner that the Vijayapura team would win.”
The remark, though made in a lighter vein, drew criticism, with some questioning the propriety of such statements from a person holding a key position.
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