Siddaramaiah said he would not allow vigilantism, as he gave ₹25 lakh each to the kin of 6 people killed in communal violence since 2018.
Published Jun 19, 2023 | 5:38 PM ⚊ Updated Jun 19, 2023 | 5:38 PM
Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah handing over the cheque to the family of one victim of communal violence. (CMofKarnataka/Twitter)
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddarmaiah on Monday,19 June, gave a “compensation” cheque of ₹25 lakh and announced jobs to the families of the six people who were killed in communal incidents since 2018.
The chief minister said he would make sure that no such deaths take place in the state.
According to Siddaramaiah, Deepak Rao (Dakshina Kannada district) was killed on 3 January, 2018; Masood (Dakshina Kannada district) on 19 July, 2022; Mohammad Fazil (Dakshina Kannada) on 28 July, 2022; Abdul Jalil (Dakshina Kannada) on 24 December, 2022; Idrish Pasha (Mandya) on 31 March, 2023; and Shamir (Gadag) on 17 January, 2022 in different incidents.
While Deepak Rao was hacked to death when Siddaramaiah was the chief minister five and half years ago, the other five lost their lives during the BJP rule.
The chief minister said the previous BJP government discriminated against people while giving relief and gave compensation only to the family members of Praveen Nettaru, a BJP leader from Dakshina Kannada, and Harsha, a Bajrang Dal activist, from Shivamogga who were killed last year.
When Praveen Nettar was killed, the then chief minister (Basavaraj Bommai) had gone to his house, which was right, but he should have also gone to Masood’s and Fazil’s houses, Siddaramaiah said.
“As chief minister, Bommai had given jobs to the family members of Harsha and Praveen Nettaru. That is okay but shouldn’t others be given (jobs and compensation)?” he asked.
The then government did not give any compensation to the next of kin of the six victims, the chief minister said.
“Today we are doing justice to their families. Along with that, we will investigate the case and ensure punishment to the guilty involved in the crime.”
He said that as the then leader of the Opposition, he had proposed in the Karnataka Assembly for jobs and compensation to the family members of Muslims who were killed, but the BJP government did not agree to it.
“After our government came to power, we are giving compensation of ₹25 lakh each to the families and successors of those six people who were killed. We will give jobs to them because everyone should be looked at equally. The government should not discriminate against people. The BJP people have been discriminated against. To rectify things, we are doing this work,” Siddaramaiah explained.
ಸರ್ಕಾರ ಸರ್ವರಿಗೂ ಸೇರಿದ್ದು. ಬಿಡಿ ಬಿಡಿಯಾಗಿ ಒಂದು ಜಾತಿ, ಒಂದು ಧರ್ಮದ ಪರವಾಗಿ ವರ್ತಿಸುವುದು ಸಂವಿಧಾನ ವಿರೋಧಿ ಕೃತ್ಯ.
ಬಿಜೆಪಿಯ ದ್ವೇಷ ಮತ್ತು ತಾರತಮ್ಯ ರಾಜಕಾರಣದ ವಿರುದ್ಧ ನಾನು ವಿರೋಧ ಪಕ್ಷದ ನಾಯಕನಾಗಿದ್ದಾಗ ಸದನದಲ್ಲೇ ಧ್ವನಿ ಎತ್ತಿದ್ದೆ. ಕೋಮುಗಲಭೆಗಳಿಗೆ ಬಲಿಯಾದ ಮೃತರ ಹೆಸರಲ್ಲೂ ಬಿಜೆಪಿ ತಾರತಮ್ಯ ನೀತಿಯನ್ನು ಅನುಸರಿಸಿತ್ತು.…— CM of Karnataka (@CMofKarnataka) June 19, 2023
He also said the government will investigate the cases to ensure punishment for the guilty involved in the crime.
The chief minister also cautioned against communal clashes and moral policing in the state.
“We will not give room for such unnatural deaths. We will make every effort to see that there are no communal clashes in the state. Whoever they are, be it Hindus or Muslims, no one should die in communal clashes and no one should take the law into their hands,” he said.
Siddaramaiah said he had given directions to the police to check moral policing, adding that the government would not allow anyone to take the law into their hands.
“We would like to give this clear message to the people of the state. We will protect everyone, be it Hindus, Muslims, Christians, or Sikhs. It is the responsibility of the government to protect everyone, their property and life. No discrimination so far as the law enforcement is concerned,” the chief minister said.
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