Day of protests in Bengaluru: Congress solidarity with Rahul Gandhi; BJP fumes over murder of Jain monk

The protest was held days after the Congress had moved the Supreme Court against the Gujarat High Court’s refusal to stay Gandhi’s conviction in a 2019 defamation case.

The Lok Sabha Secretary General Utpal Kumar Singh notified the disqualification of Gandhi on 24 March, just a day after a Surat court convicted Gandhi and sentenced him to two years in prison for making the “derogatory” Modi remark at Kolar, Karnataka, on 13 April 2019.

Two years in the maximum possible sentence that can be given in a defamation case. It is also the minimum conviction needed to disqualify the sitting MP.

Alleging that the BJP played “dirty tricks” to disqualify Gandhi from Parliament, the Congress had on 9 July announced that its workers and leaders would hold a maun satyagraha (silent protest) in every state capital on 12 July.

ಕಾಂಗ್ರೆಸ್ ನಾಯಕ ರಾಹುಲ್ ಗಾಂಧಿ ಅವರ ವಿರುದ್ಧ ದ್ವೇಷದ ರಾಜಕಾರಣ ನಡೆಸುತ್ತಾ, ಕೇಂದ್ರ ತನಿಖಾ ಸಂಸ್ಥೆಗಳ ದುರುಪಯೋಗ ಮತ್ತು ಸಾಂವಿಧಾನಿಕ ಸಂಸ್ಥೆಗಳ ಸ್ವಾತಂತ್ರ್ಯವನ್ನು ನಾಶಗೊಳಿಸುತ್ತಿರುವುದನ್ನು ವಿರೋಧಿಸಿ ಕೆಪಿಸಿಸಿ ವತಿಯಿಂದ ಫ್ರೀಡಂ ಪಾರ್ಕ್ ನಲ್ಲಿ ಹಮ್ಮಿಕೊಂಡಿದ್ದ ಪ್ರತಿಭಟನೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಭಾಗವಹಿಸಿದೆ. pic.twitter.com/DVjC6SJkdb

— Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) July 12, 2023

Meanwhile, the BJP workers raised slogans against the Siddaramaiah government, condemning the murder of the Jain monk, Acharya Kamakumara Nandi Maharaj, 58, of the Nandi Parvat Jain Ashram at Hirekodi village in Chikkodi, a week ago.

The BJP leaders then marched to the Raj Bhavan and submitted a memorandum to Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot.

Also read: Will move SC, says Congress, as court refuses to stay Rahul conviction

‘BJP jittery on seeing support to Congress’

Condemning Gandhi’s disqualification, Shivakumar said the BJP government has been continuously attacking the Nehru family for the past nine years. The RSS and BJP have been continuously spreading canards against them, he added.

“Many defamatory speeches and remarks made by BJP leaders have gone unpunished till today. But Rahul Gandhi has been disqualified from the Lok Sabha, citing his speech in Kolar,” Shivakumar said.

“They are plotting to end our leaders politically as it will be difficult to retain their seats in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections,” he contended.

“After the Bharat Jodo Yatra, Rahul Gandhi has won the trust of the people of the country. They (the BJP) are not able to tolerate this support. Hence, they have conspired against our leader,” the deputy chief minister said.

The KPCC president stated that the recent people’s verdict in Karnataka was proof of the immense support Rahul Gandhi had garnered.

“From Kanniyakumari to Kashmir, people have shown unprecedented support,” Shivakumar said before explicitly referring to the Karnataka Assembly poll result.

“Our party won in all areas where Rahul’s yatra had passed through. The BJP is unable to tolerate this win. We are fighting this struggle by empowering Rahul. He is the voice of the country’s poor, youth, and the oppressed,” Shivakumar said, adding that the people of the entire state would stand with him.

AICC general secretary and Rajya Sabha member Randeep Singh Surjewala, who is in charge of the state party affairs, also participated in the protest.

Also read: Home Minister rejects BJP demand for CBI probe into seer’s murder

BJP wants Centre to handle law and order 

The BJP legislators staged a sit-in near the Gandhi statue outside the Vidhana Soudha, protesting against the brutal murder of the Jain monk.

They raised slogans against the “deteriorating law and order situation” in the state. Earlier, the BJP demanded a CBI inquiry into the murder case saying it required an impartial investigation.

The Jain monk heading a monastery at Hirekodi in Chikodi taluk of Belagavi district was killed and chopped into pieces before dumping his mortal remains in a defunct borewell on 6 July 2023.

Two people, Narayana Basappa Madi, and Hassan Dalayath, were arrested in the case. The police suspect that a soured financial deal led to the murder.

ರಾಜ್ಯದಲ್ಲಿ ಅರಾಜಕತೆ ತಾಂಡವವಾಡುತ್ತಿದ್ದು, ಆಡಳಿತ ಸಂಪೂರ್ಣ ಹಳಿ ತಪ್ಪಿದೆ. ಕಾನೂನು & ಸುವ್ಯವಸ್ಥೆಯನ್ನು ನಿಯಂತ್ರಿಸಬೇಕಿದ್ದ ಸರ್ಕಾರ ತನ್ನ ಜವಾಬ್ದಾರಿ ಮರೆತು, ವರ್ಗಾವಣೆ ದಂಧೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಮುಳುಗಿದೆ.

ಈ ಹಿನ್ನೆಲೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಇಂದು ಶಾಸಕ ಮಿತ್ರರ ಜೊತೆ ವಿಧಾನಸೌಧ-ವಿಕಾಸಸೌಧದ ಆವರಣದಲ್ಲಿರುವ ಗಾಂಧಿ ಪ್ರತಿಮೆ ಬಳಿ ಪ್ರತಿಭಟಿಸಿ, ನಂತರ ಮಾನ್ಯ… pic.twitter.com/Ziyw1eSH2n

— Basavaraj S Bommai (@BSBommai) July 12, 2023

Also read: Police arrest three men for double murder in Bengaluru tech firm

Jungle Raj in Karnataka

Speaking to reporters, former chief minister Bommai said that Jungle Raj has begun in Karnataka. “Common people cannot walk without fear. It is not only a Jain monk, Hindu activists, too, have been killed,” he said.

“Common people have been murdered. Two techies were hacked to death. After the murder, the accused puts it on Instagram. The police officer who went to stop illegal sand mining has been killed. Assassins have no fear. The thick-skinned government is not responding to our request,” he alleged.

Stating that law and order situation has deteriorated in the state, Bommai said: “We have requested the Governor to summon the Director General of Police and Inspector General of Police and instruct them to restore law and order in the state.”

“We have also requested to bring the law and order situation in the state under the Union government,” he added.

It may be noted that when Siddaramaiah refused to hand over the seer’s murder case to the CBI, the Opposition stormed into the well of the House and raised slogans against the government on Tuesday, 11 July.

BJP MLAs Dr CN Ashwath Narayan, Sunil Kumar, Basanagouda Patil Yatnal, Arga Jnanendra, and others attended the protest.