The BJP on Wednesday held a protest in Bengaluru and also across the State against Amnesty International for organising an event on broken families of Kashmir on August 13 where in few persons have allegedly raised anti India slogans at Theosophical Society in the city. The protest was held under State president and MP BS Yeddyurappa and they were demanding the charges of sedition against human rights group Amnesty International should be probed by the National Investigative Agency, the country's premier anti-terror agency.
Yeddyurappa led the protest from Town Hall, demanding that the Congress Government in the State hand over investigations against Amnesty International to the NIA. He also demanded that the Amnesty International's India chapter must be immediately banned. Yeddyurappa also said it was a fundamental right to bring to book people who indulge in anti-national activities.
He said “we demand NIA to take over investigation of the case against Amnesty International. We want Government to arrest the culprits who had raised anti India slogans at the event organised by Amnesty.” “we demand the Government(Union) to ban Amnesty India immediately.”
The Congress Government in Karnataka led by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has slapped sedition charges against Amensty International Amnesty based on a complaint by Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad or ABVP which claimed anti-India and secessionist slogans were raised during an Amnesty-organised event on Kashmir. The decision to slap sedition charges by the government has been criticised by many and also within the Congress. Senior Congress leader and in charge of Karnataka Congress, Digvijay Singh openly critcised the Government for slapping sedition charges.
Meanwhile, The United States has backed Amnesty International and the State Department Deputy Spokesperson Mark Toner had said that the US supported the right to freedom of expression for anyone, including Amnesty.
"With Amnesty International, I'm sorry. Well, we obviously, as we do around the world, support the right to freedom of expression and assembly, including through civil society," Toner told reporters on Monday.
He was asked about the sedition charge against the group in India.
Toner had said the State Department was aware of the reports that police in Bengaluru have "initiated preliminary investigation into allegations of sedition against Amnesty International."
However Amnesty International has denied any of its employees have been involved in slogan shouting and no arrest has been made in the case so far.
Earlier, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had assured Amnesty of a fair and transparent probe. But home minister G Parameshwara drew criticism for giving a virtual clean-chit to Amnesty even before a probe was over.