Karnataka BJP chief BS Yeddyurappa has warned Siddaramaiah Government against arresting of powerful RSS leader Kalladka Prabhakar Bhat, who has been accused by the Congress of instigating communal violence in Dakshina Kannada district.
Yeddyurappa who was in coastal town of Mangaluru on Thursday gave a warning and said if the Government arrests Bhat, the BJP will come to streets to protest against the arrest.
Speaking at the party workers meeting Yeddyurappa said “This is a warning to Siddaramaiah. If Prabhakar Bhat is arrested, then the entire State will go up in flames”.
“BJP workers will go out on the streets and the Congress Government alone will be responsible for the deterioration of law and order,” Yeddyurappa added.
Yeddyurappa's open warning to the Chief Minister came after Siddaramaiah has asked top police officers in Bengaluru to arrest perpetrators and instigators of the violence in the Dakshina Kannada district which is a blot on his Government ahead of Assembly polls.
“The Siddaramaiah Government is trying to strong-arm the police force and make them dance to its tune. Siddaramaiah is going to be in power only for another 7-8 months. I wish to tell the police force to work sincerely and not be scared of the ruling Government as the BJP will come to power next year. Whoever the culprits are, they should be brought to justice. Many police officers have told me that they are under pressure. There is no need to be afraid,” Yeddyurappa added.
The Dakshina Kannada, district administration held a peace meet in Mangaluru on Thursday which was boycotted by the BJP and other right wing organisations. The communal violence erupted following RSS activist Sharath Madivala’s murder and this is the first time a peace meeting was held by the administration.
After boycotting the peace meet BJP organised a separate meeting of party workers, where in Yeddyurappa demanded that the cases filed against RSS leader Kalladka Prabhakar Bhat and BJP MPs Shobha Karandlaje and Nalin Kumar Kateel for disrupting peace in the region, be withdrawn.
Kalladka Prabhakar Bhat, a powerful RSS leader hailing from Kalladka in Mangaluru, has been accused by the Congress of instigating trouble in the region in the days preceding Sharath's funeral.
Yeddyurappa said that he along with other leaders of the party will meet Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh in Delhi on July 16 and press for a probe by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) into over 24 murders in the State after Siddaramaiah-led government came to power.
He said that it included two communal-related murders that took place in Bantwal taluk of Dakshina Kannada in June and July this year. He alleged that K.C. Venugopal, the Congress in-charge of Karnataka, was prompting Kerala-like communal murders in Karnataka.
Yeddyurappa met Taniyappa Madiwala, father of Sharath Madiwala, at his house in Sajipa in Bantwal taluk and consoled the family members.
Yeddyurappa also blamed Dakshina Kannada district in-charge minister B Ramanath Rai and U T Khader as directly responsible for the communal unrest in the district.
He said "After Congress came to power, several RSS and BJP workers have been murdered. But none of the cases has been solved by detaining the culprits. Instead culprits are protected. We have strong feeling that KFD is behind these murders. We have lost faith in the government. Investigations are not progressing. We demand National Investigation Agency (NIA) probe into these matters so that the truth will be revealed."