A video showing Karnataka Minister for Forest, Environment and Ecology and Dakshina Kannada in charge B. Ramanath Rai allegedly directing the Superintendent of Police to book an RSS leader for attempt to murder led to a heated exchange in the State legislature on Monday, with the Opposition BJP demanding the Minister’s resignation.
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The video, which has gone viral, shows the Minister allegedly asking the Superintendent of Police to book a case of attempt to murder against RSS leader Kalladka Prabhakar Bhat if he makes any provocative speeches.
As soon as the Assembly met in the morning, Leader of the Opposition Jagadish Shettar said the Minister, in the video, urged the police officer to take on the RSS leader and send him to jail. He also allegedly described the leader as a “coward”.
Calling this “deliberate interference” in the functioning of police with an eye on vote bank, he alleged that the Minister’s attitude was responsible for disturbance of communal harmony in the coastal region. Mr. Shettar questioned the propriety of Mr. Rai summoning the Superintendent of Police to an inspection bungalow in Bantwal and issuing such instructions.
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He demanded that Mr. Rai resign or Chief Minister Siddaramaiah sack him. Mr. Shettar told Speaker K.B. Koliwad that he would furnish a copy of the CD for further verification. BJP member K. Bopaiah termed Mr. Rai’s instructions as an attempt to instigate officials and demanded that a case be booked against him.
‘I was doing my duty’
However, Mr. Rai denied the allegations and said he made no attempt to disturb communal harmony. He said that a few persons identified with the Sangh Parivar had indulged in a daylight murder in his constituency, resulting in disturbing of communal harmony.
Accusing Mr. Bhat of lending support to an anti-social element who was behind the murder, Mr. Rai said he was “only discharging his duty as Minister” to ensure communal harmony was not disturbed by talking to the Superintendent of Police.
“I am ready to retire from public life if it is proved that I have targeted any community or indulged in vote bank politics,” he said, maintaining that he was facing the wrath of fundamental organisations from Hindu and Muslim communities for his secular stance.
The argument came to an end only after the government announced that Home Minister G. Parameshwara would make a statement on this later.