Srikanth Poojary, who faces 16 cases, was among 36 people arrested for various Long Pending Cases (LPCs) in Hubballi-Dharwad Commissionerate.
Published Jan 04, 2024 | 12:42 PM ⚊ Updated Jan 04, 2024 | 12:42 PM
BJP leaders protest at Freedom Park against the Congress for the arrest of a Hindutva activist. (Supplied)
A large screen placed at Freedom Park in Bengaluru, on Wednesday, 3 January, blared visuals of Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah being felicitated by the Muslim community, his statements on contributing to the Ram Temple anywhere else other than Ayodhya over its chequered history.
Through these comparisons, the BJP, led by its Karnataka unit President BY Vijayendra, that was protesting at the venue, wanted to “prove” that Siddaramaiah was “anti-Hindu”.
The BJP in Karnataka launched a fiery protest on Wednesday at Freedom Park, slamming the ruling Congress government in the state for the arrest of activist Srikanth Poojary in connection with a 31-year-old rioting case in Hubballi town.
The incident behind the case dates back to 5 December 1992, a day before the Babri Masjid was razed in Ayodhya in whose place a Ram Temple is being readied for consecration on 22 January 2024.
The bulk of the vitriol at the protest was directed at Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who was painted in communal colours. BJP leaders have continued the protest, albeit in a different form, on Thursday as well.
Leaders have been sitting outside police station holding placards deeming themselves “kar sevaks too” and urging the police to arrest them as well.
ಅಯೋಧ್ಯೆ ಕರ ಸೇವಕನ ಬಂಧಿಸಿದ ಹಿಂದು ವಿರೋಧಿ, ರಾಮ ವಿರೋಧಿ ರಾಜ್ಯ ಸರ್ಕಾರದ ವಿರುದ್ಧ ಹೋರಾಟ ಪ್ರಾರಂಭಿಸಿದ್ದೇನೆ.#ನಾನೊಬ್ಬಕರಸೇವಕನನ್ನನ್ನುಬಂಧಿಸಿ pic.twitter.com/BYhwiNNBDF
— C T Ravi 🇮🇳 ಸಿ ಟಿ ರವಿ (@CTRavi_BJP) January 4, 2024
Karnataka BJP president and Shikaripura MLA BY Vijayendra led the protest that lambasted Siddaramaiah for his “appeasement politics”.
It was attended by former Karnataka chief minister and former Union minister DV Sadananda Gowda, senior BJP leader PC Mohan, former deputy chief minister and BJP MLA Ashwath Narayan, Shivamogga MLA SN Channabasappa, Karnataka BJP general secretary and Karkala MLA Sunil Kumar, and several others, including former IPS officer Bhaskar Rao, who joined the BJP after his short stint with AAP.
It was the first time a protest was organised and carried out throughout the state on such a large scale under the leadership of the newly-appointed Karnataka BJP chief BY Vijayendra. He made sure that the agitation was attended by thousands of BJP workers in Bengaluru.
Simultaneously, a group of BJP activists led by the Leader of the Opposition in the Karnataka Assembly, R Ashoka, organised a sit-in protest in front of the Hubballi Town Police Station for the arrest of the Hindutva activist.
Senior BJP leaders lauded Vijayendra for organising the protest on Wednesday so fiercely.
On his part, Vijayendra warned the Siddaramaiah government to release the activist or else he and his followers would ensure that they gheraoed the police station and laid siege to it.
The agitation at the Freedom Park started around 11 am on Wednesday with an LED screen showing a still of Lord Rama with Ayodhya’s Ram Temple.
The BJP leaders on the dais raised slogans against the Congress government in Karnataka, calling the party anti-Ram and anti-Hindu for threatening the activist with arrest for a case registered against him 31 years ago.
The LED screen that showed video clip of Siddaramaiah’s felicitation by Muslim community members
Moments later, the LED screen showed Siddaramaiah’s comments on the Ram Temple, in which he said he would contribute to the Ram temple if it was built at any other place in Ayodhya.
When told by a reporter that the Supreme Court had allowed the Ram Temple to be built at the spot, Siddaramaiah said it was still under controversy.
The LED screen then broadcast a music video where Siddaramaiah was seen being felicitated at a Muslim gathering, where he was made to don a traditional robe. The clip was repeated a few times.
Shivamogga MLA SN Channabasappa launched a scathing attack on Siddaramaiah, saying, “We have decided to rename Siddaramaiah ‘Siddaramullah Khan’, and a day has also been chosen for it, as he is repeatedly trying to hurt the sentiments of Hindus in Karnataka.”
Channabasappa said that hundreds of people, including Srikanth Poojary, had made sacrifices, and the time had come to see the result — the Ayodhya Ram Temple.
The Congress government in Karnataka was hounding Hindu activists at this juncture by arresting and imprisoning them, he claimed.
Babar was a foreigner and an invader who had committed atrocities on Hindus who were Indians, he said. The prod was at the Mughal leader after whom the Babri Masjid — which was demolished by ‘”kar sevaks” affiliated to right wing organisations led by Vishwa Hindu Parishad on 6 December 1992 in Ayodhya — was named.
“Siddaramaiah’s Tughlaq Sarkar will not happen here, and with this act of arrest, Siddaramaiah has proved that he would go to any extent to get Muslim votes,” Channabasappa said.
Karnataka BJP general secretary and Karkala MLA Sunil Kumar said that it was not new for the Congress to take an anti-Hindu stand.
“The Congress had sought evidence when India conducted surgical strikes on Pakistan in 2016. It was during that Congress rule that encounters were carried out on Hindu activists, and they wanted the cases registered against Muslims in the DJ Halli and KG Halli riots to be withdrawn. The Congress is against the Kannada language as well,” said Kumar.
“I appeal to all Congress members to light a lamp in their house on 22 January when the ‘Prana Prathistappane’ of the Ayodhya Ram Temple happens,” he added.
Former deputy chief minister and Malleswaram MLA Ashwath Narayan told the gathering, “The Ram Temple is of national importance, and is a matter of national pride. It is being built despite thousands of challenges. Ours’ is ‘Hanuma naadu’ — depicting how Kannadigas served Lord Rama, but the Congress is not learning its lessons.”
BJP leaders handing over memorandum to the governor on Wednesday
He added, “Kar sevaks should be ideally called freedom fighters, and the case against Srikanth Poojary should be withdrawn immediately. Otherwise, Kannadigas will not forgive you (Siddaramaiah). We will intensify our protests throughout the state if Poojary is not released.”
Srikanth Poojari is accused in 16 criminal cases and was among 36 people of various communities arrested by the police following court directions on clearing long pending cases.
Former chief minister and former Union minister DV Sadananda Gowda said that Srikanth Poojary had been an auto-rickshaw driver and had not been absconding.
“He had been living at the same place in Hubballi and would ride his auto-rickshaw all through the highways. For 31 years, including the seven months that the Congress has been in power, he (Srikanth Poojary) was very much there,” he said.
Vijayendra and other BJP leaders also met with the Governor at the Raj Bhavan and handed over a memorandum to him in this regard.
Meanwhile, the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), on Wednesday, alleged that the Congress government in Karnataka was conspiring to invoke false cases registered during the Ram Janmbhoomi movement.
“Cases that are 30-35 years old, in which many of the framed ones have died, and most of the survivors who are between 70 and 80 years of age, are being implicated,” said VHP central joint general secretary Surendra Jain.
“Because those cases were bogus, some governments later revoked them. Today, after invoking them, those ‘Karyakartas’ who survived are being arrested again. What does the Congress government want to prove by arresting all these ‘Karyakartas’?” he asked.
Jain claimed that more than 10,000 cases were falsely registered at that time.
“Does it want to create an atmosphere of terror in the Hindu society of Karnataka by reviving them all? Is this the real face of the Congress?” he asked.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, on Wednesday, lashed out at the BJP over its protest. He said leaders of the Opposition party need to understand that assigning caste-based and religious labels to criminals was extremely dangerous.
He recalled that even when the BJP government was in power in the state, the Lokayukta police arrested the then chief minister BS Yediyurappa and sent him to jail.
“Is that Hubballi criminal suspect any greater Hindu or devotee of Rama than Yediyurappa? So, was the government at that time anti-Hindu? Not even the leaders of the BJP’s parent organisation called the government that arrested Hindu Yediyurappa anti-Hindu, did they? Why this outcry now?” he asked.
“The Congress government is becoming more popular day by day. Out of desperation, BJP leaders are rallying around a criminal suspect,” said the Chief Minister.
Siddaramaiah said it should not have come to a point where a national party had to defend a criminal suspect.
“If BJP leaders had a little wisdom, they should read out the list of charges against this person from Hubballi and then decide whether to fight for him. Since Hindus are the majority in the population, they are also the majority in prisons. Does that mean the BJP should fight for all of them because they belong to the Hindu religion?” he asked.
“Even if a person commits heinous crimes, BJP leaders rush to his defence if he wraps a saffron shawl around his head and shouts that he is a Hindu. This is not only a disgrace to the saffron shawl but also to Hinduism itself. It’s a betrayal of religion. Let the law take its course,” Siddaramaiah said.
Siddaramaiah also posted on X, “For four years, the Bharatiya Janata Party (@BJP4Karnataka) spent time in misrule and corruption scandals, but all of a sudden they have woken up panicking due to the positive public’s response to our government’s achievements. They are desperately clinging to the arrest of a criminal suspect in Hubballi to lead their baseless charge. BJP leaders need to understand that assigning caste and religious labels to criminals is extremely dangerous.”
For four years, the Bharatiya Janata Party (@BJP4Karnataka) spent time in misrule and corruption scandals, but all of a sudden they have woken up panicking due to the positive public’s response to our government’s achievements. They are desperately clinging to the arrest of a…
— Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) January 3, 2024
