Patna, May 3 (IANS): Pratibha Singh, a Congress leader in Bihar's Darbhanga district, has lodged a case against Union Home Minister Amit Shah saying that he was provoking communal tensions in the poll-bound Karnataka through his remarks.

The case refers tocomments made by Shah at a rally in Belagavi, Karnataka, on April 25 during which he said that if the Congress came to power, riots would take place in the state.

"Through his speech, Amit Shah was trying to spread hatred and communal tension in Karnataka. He said that if Congress would come into power, riots would take place in the state. It is a provocative speech. Hence we have lodged a case (Number 490/23) under IPC sections of 153, 505(2) and 506 of IPC against him," Singh said.

"Amit Shah is deliberately making such statements in Karnataka to disturb communal harmony in the state," the Congress leader added.

Singh's move could be seen as a response to the BJP in the wake of the separate criminal defamation cases against senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in Surat and Patna district courts.