Cong govt will be responsible if situation gets out of control: K'taka BJP on unrest in coastal region

Mandya (Karnataka), May 31 (IANS) Karnataka BJP on Saturday warned that the Congress-led government in the state will be responsible if the situation gets out of control in the coastal region.

The State BJP President B.Y. Vijayendra made the statement in this regard while responding to questions about recent unrest in the coastal region.

Vijayendra issued a warning in this regard to the Home Minister G. Parameshwara, the minister in charge of Mangaluru district, Dinesh Gundu Rao, and the Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.

“Many Hindu activists, including members of Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), are being arrested using the murder of a Muslim youth as a pretext. The police are acting excessively, emboldened by the Congress-led government and its appeasement politics. If the situation spirals out of control, the Congress, the Home Minister, and the Chief Minister will be held responsible,” Vijayendra warned.

He claimed that the newly established Special Task Force (STF) to ensure communal harmony is aimed specifically at targeting Hindu and BJP activists. “Congress is casting a malicious eye on the state. If law and order collapse, they alone must be held accountable.”

On another question, he took a dig at the government, saying, “They used to shout about intelligence failures during Operation Sindoor. Now a Muslim man has been murdered in Mangaluru — where was their intelligence then?”

Referring to the murder of Hindu activist Suhas Shetty, Vijayendra said, “It is now known how women were involved in that case. There is talk of foreign funding being used for these killings. Instead of seriously investigating this, the state government is only focused on minority appeasement. They will have to pay a heavy price for this in the future.”

He also recalled the BJP's protests when the Hubballi riot cases were withdrawn. “Now, even the High Court has slammed the state government and rebuked them strongly,” he said.

Vijayendra further alleged that the Congress-led Karnataka government is misusing public money to sustain its party workers. He criticised the government’s recent order to release honorarium funds for chairpersons and vice-chairpersons of the Guarantee Scheme Committees, calling it a misuse of taxpayers' money.

Vijayendra accused the Siddaramaiah-led government of failing to pay salaries to state employees and being unable to mobilise funds for its guarantee schemes. “This is the same government that is resorting to taxing waste, exposing its mismanagement,” he remarked.

He added that there has been no development work across the state, and MLAs are struggling due to a lack of grants. “Meanwhile, the poor are being burdened by price hikes. If elections are held today, Congress will suffer a miserable defeat, as indicated by recent surveys,” he claimed. “The public is openly calling for the ouster of this anti-poor government.”

He cited a recent incident in which a three-and-a-half-year-old child died allegedly due to a delay in treatment caused by a lack of medicines and police harassment. “The child, bitten by a dog, was taken to a hospital which lacked medicines. While being shifted to another hospital, the child succumbed. Police harassment contributed to the delay, and this was due to the pressure from the state government,” Vijayendra alleged.

“The government has issued targets to all departments, including the police, due to a lack of funds for the guarantee schemes,” he alleged.

Vijayendra further said that the BJP is demanding Hemavathi water for all taluks of Tumakuru district and justice for farmers. “Arresting a few BJP leaders will not suppress the protest. Tumakuru district is being treated unfairly. We will launch a bigger agitation soon,” he declared.

--IANS

mka/uk