Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) spokesperson M. Lakshmana has urged the police to book senior BJP leaders C.T. Ravi, R. Ashok, B. Vijayendra, and Ashwathnarayan under Goonda Act for issuing “provocative” statements on the communal violence that erupted in Nagamangala town of Mandya district on Wednesday night.
Addressing a press conference in Mysuru on Friday, Mr. Lakshmana alleged that leaders of the BJP were trying to stoke more communal trouble by using abusive language against a particular community while speaking in front of the media.
He suspected that BJP leaders had visited the town only to keep the communal trouble alive through their miscreants.
While urging Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to take necessary steps in this regard, Mr. Lakshman said he would shortly write to the senior police officials to book the BJP leaders under Goonda Act.
“They want to blow the issue out of proportion and it needs to be dealt with iron hands,” Mr. Lakshmana said.
Mr. Lakshmana, who alleged that the trouble in Nagamangala was “pre-planned” by the BJP, RSS, and JD(S), said the Congress government was capably handling the situation by arresting 53 persons belonging to both communities and lodging a FIR under 23 different sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Samhitha.
Out of the 53 persons arrested, 30 belong to Muslim community and 23 to the Hindu community. “If Congress was appeasing Muslims, why would 30 people from the community be arrested. The State government will take action against the guilty irrespective of the community to which they belong”, he said.
Claiming that the state had witnessed 752 incidents of communal violence during the four years of BJP rule from 2019 to 2023 when B.S. Yediyurappa and Basavaraj Bommai were at the helm in the State, Mr. Lakshmana said one communal violence case had been registered every 12 days as per the information obtained from the Home Department.
Also, 120 cases of immoral policing were reported during the period. These cases had been provoked by 33 Hindu organiSations and four Muslim organisations, he said.
Mr. Lakshmana alleged that the BJP, after misusing Ram for electoral gains, was now using Ganesha for creating communal trouble for its political ends.
Published - September 13, 2024 09:56 pm IST
