BJP to up the ante against State govt. over ‘killings’ of Hindutva activists

Core committee meeting decides to hold a series of protests

The State leadership of the BJP on Sunday decided to up the ante against the State government over the alleged murders of Hindutva activists.

BJP core committee meeting on Sunday decided to organise protests against the alleged murder of Hindutva activist Paresh Mesta, who was found dead in a lake in Honnavar, Uttara Kannada district, on Friday. A statement from the party stated that protests would be held in Honnavar, Bengaluru, and Delhi.

All the BJP legislators from the State will on December 12 take out a padayatra from the Gandhi statue on the Vidhana Soudha premises to the Raj Bhavan and submit a petition to the Governor demanding an NIA probe into the death of Mesta and 18 other activists. BJP MPs from the State will meet Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on December 15 apart from raising the issue in Parliament on that day.

This will be followed by a protest rally in Honnavar on December 18, led by Jagadish Shettar and K.S. Eshwarappa, leaders of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council, respectively.

Sources said the core committee meeting was for most parts consumed in discussing strategies to counter the Congress government on the alleged killings of Hindutva activists. “Situation in parts of the State was fast turning like in Kerala and a similar awareness campaign is called for over the issue,” the meeting decided, a senior leader said.

The meeting also decided to intensify its campaign on “the Congress being soft on PFI and SDPI”, the two minority organisations whose members have been arrested for murders of some Hindutva activists earlier.