Bengaluru: The Karnataka BJP on Thursday accused the Congress-led state government of shifting the injured lathi-charge victims to an undisclosed location to prevent its leaders from meeting them.
The party announced plans to stage a protest at the Suvarna Vidhana Soudha in Belagavi and raise the issue during the ongoing Assembly session.
Leader of the Opposition, R. Ashoka, speaking to reporters in Belagavi, said, “Our party leaders today planned to visit the hospital to meet those injured in the lathi-charge during the Panchamasali Lingayat reservation stir on Tuesday. We had communicated our intention to visit them. However, the injured persons were suddenly shifted to an undisclosed location.”
“This government is not allowing us to meet those severely injured in the lathi-charge. This behaviour is reminiscent of Hitler. We are unable to track down where the injured have been taken,” he added.
Ashoka stated that the BJP would raise the issue of the assault on Lingayat protesters during the zero hour and stage a protest near the Ambedkar statue on the premises of the Suvarna Vidhana Soudha before the session begins. “A small incident has been blown out of proportion by ordering a lathi-charge on protesters,” he said.
He accused the Congress government of hypocrisy, saying, “In their speeches, Congress leaders quote Basavanna, the founder of the Lingayat sect. Yet in reality, they order lathi-charge on Basavanna’s followers.”
“We don’t know if we are in a democratic system or a state of emergency. During the previous BJP government, the Panchamasali Lingayat community protested without any restrictions. Back then, the number of protesters was four times higher than Tuesday,” Ashoka recalled.
“Our government took action to ensure the situation didn’t go out of hand. Responding to their demand, we decided to provide a reservation quota,” he stated.
Ashoka further said, “The government has instigated violence, and members of the Lingayat community were assaulted so brutally that many are now in the ICU. This is an unpardonable crime. The community seer has pointed out that no Chief Minister in history has ever ordered a lathi-charge on Lingayats, but CM Siddaramaiah did. The seer has warned of consequences.”
He criticized the government for reducing the Assembly session’s length. “The government claimed they would run the session for 10 days but curtailed it to one day, citing the Kannada Sahitya Sammelan. Another day was spent unveiling portraits of Mahatma Gandhi and Anubhava Mantapa. Two more days were lost due to the death of former CM S.M. Krishna,” Ashoka noted.
“The government should have extended the session by a week. We could have addressed issues such as the Waqf board controversy, maternal deaths, the Rs 700 crore-excise scam, newborn deaths, the ration card issue, and the Panchamasali Lingayat reservation,” he added.
Ashoka also said, “The BJP gave the reservation to Lingayats. The Constitution does not allow religious-based reservations for minorities. The BJP government cancelled reservations for minorities and redistributed them to Lingayats, Vokkaligas, Marathas, and others as per the Constitution. The Congress, practising vote-bank politics, has halted the implementation of these reservations.”
He accused CM Siddaramaiah of supporting the assault on protesters. “CM Siddaramaiah assured discussions on the Lingayat Panchamasali reservation issue. Instead of meeting the protesters and receiving their memorandum, he ordered a lathi-charge. If he respected democracy, he would have met the protesters. The CM must apologise, and the responsible police officers must be suspended,” Ashoka demanded.
State BJP President B.Y. Vijayendra announced that all BJP MLAs and MLCs would stage a protest on the premises of the Suvarna Vidhana Soudha.
–IANS