BJP blames Congress for Thursday’s disturbances

Many people have not understood the spirit of CAA: Kateel

State BJP president Nalin Kumar Katil addressing a press conference in Mangaluru on Saturday.

State BJP president and Member of Parliament from Dakshina Kannada Nalin Kumar Kateel alleged here on Saturday that the Congress was instigating people to protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 by provoking them in the State.

Addressing presspersons here, he held a statement by Mangaluru MLA and former Minister U.T. Khader responsible for the violence in the city on Thursday. Mr. Khader during a protest in front of the Deputy Commissioner’s office here on December 17 had said that Karnataka would burn if the CAA was implemented in the State. A day after Mr. Khader made the statement the city witnessed violence over the CAA, Mr. Kateel said.

The MP claimed that people from outside the State were involved in the violence in the city. The half-masked men (those who had covered their face partially) were involved in pelting stones during the violence. The violence was pre-planned. The Congress was behind it, he alleged.

Mr. Kateel said many people had not understood the spirit of the CAA. Many were less informed about it. Hence many were protesting against it in different parts of the country. It would not take away the rights of people in the country, he said.

Shobha blames PFI

At a separate press conference, Shobha Karandlaje, Member of Parliament, Udupi-Chikkamagaluru, said it appeared that the Popular Front of India (PFI) was behind the Mangaluru violence.

At the same time she also held the Congress responsible for the violence. The MP said the violence took place after Mr. Khader’s statement during the protest on December 17.

She said that youth who came from Kerala were involved in stone pelting.

It appears that the PFI and the SDPI did it to take control over Mangaluru, she said. The State would submit a detailed report on the same and violence to the Union government, the MP said. Ms. Karandlaje said the role of the PFI in the killings of Prashanth Poojary, Rajesh Madivala, and Rudresh in the State had been established. It was also involved in the attack on the former Minister Tanveer Sait in Mysuru recently, she said.