On 4th December, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader CT Ravi staged a protest outside the town police station against the arrest of Kar Sewak Srikant Poojari for his alleged involvement in riots after the demolition of a disputed structure in Ayodhya in 1992. Notably, BJP leaders are holding protests against the Congress-led Karnataka government across the state.
#WATCH | Chikmagalur, Karnataka: BJP Leader CT Ravi stages a protest in front of the town police station against the arrest of a person in Karnataka's Hubballi for alleged involvement in the riots after the Babri Masjid demolition in 1992. pic.twitter.com/CbhBr0LddJ
— ANI (@ANI) January 4, 2024
In a statement, Karnataka BJP president BY Vijayendra accused the Congress-led government of being anti-Hindu. He said, “Karnataka government is proving again and again that it is an anti-Hindu government. Yesterday in Hubballi, they reopened a 31-year-old case, and Hindu worker Srikant Poojari was arrested; we strongly condemn this.”
Simultaneously, BJP MLA and general secretary V Sunil Kumar was detained by police for staging a protest in Bengaluru. Kumar held a placard that read, “I am Kar Sewak; arrest me”, after which the police detained him. Kumar was protesting against the arrest of Kar Sewak Srikant Poojari in a 31-year-old case by Hubballi Police.
Reportedly, he was holding the placard which read, “I am Kar Sevak, who participated in the Ayodhya Ram Mandir movement on 6th December 1992, arrest me.” The police detained him for staging a protest “without permission”.
V Sunil Kumar : ಬೆಂಗಳೂರಿನ ಸದಾಶಿವನಗರದ ಪೊಲೀಸ್ ಠಾಣೆ ಎದುರು ಶಾಸಕ ಸುನೀಲ್ ಕುಮಾರ್ ಸರ್ಕಾರದ ವಿರುದ್ಧ ಏಕಾಂಗಿಯಾಗಿ ಪ್ರತಿಭಟನೆ ನಡೆಸಿದ್ದಾರೆ.@karkalasunil @INCKarnataka @HariprasadBK2 #srikanathpoojari #protest #bjp #newsfirstkannada #karnataka #Bengaluru #newsfirstkannada pic.twitter.com/1X0bIEKHQQ
— NewsFirst Kannada (@NewsFirstKan) January 4, 2024
Congress workers demanded arrest of BJP leaders
On the other hand, Congress workers also staged protests against BJP leaders at Congress Bhawan. They claimed that the BJP was spreading fake information against the state government on the arrest of Poojari in Hubballi for alleged involvement in the riots after the demolition of the disputed structure. They further claimed BJP was trying to save Poojari who has multiple cases against him.
#BreakingNews | Politics peak over arrest of Srikanth Poojari, counter protest erupts in #Karnataka, @reethu_journo with more details
— News18 (@CNNnews18) January 4, 2024
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Earlier, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah BJP’s allegations of hate politics in connection to Poojari’s arrest. When asked about the matter, he said, “What should be done to the wrongdoers? Should we just leave them?” He added, “We have told the police to dispose of old cases. No innocents have been arrested. We will proceed according to the court’s direction.”
Deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka, DK Shivakumar, claimed that the arrest was to maintain law and order in the state. He added that the state government was not restoring to “vendetta politics”. He said, “We are not doing vendetta politics, but we are carrying out the task of maintaining law and order. We are a peace-loving state; there is no place for anti-social activities.”
Shivakumar accused the BJP of trying to politicise the matter. He added that the state’s Home Minister has already “clarified” that the government was only trying to clear the pending cases.
The case against Srikant Poojari and cases against Kar Sewaks
the Karnataka police department has opened cases for investigation against Ram Mandir activists who were accused of property destruction and other offenses during the peak of the movement for Ram Mandir over thirty years ago.
According to an IANS report, the police department has assembled a special team and compiled a list of ‘suspects’ in instances related to the 1992 Ram Mandir movement, which led to acts of violence by Islamists and ensuing intercommunal conflicts.
Further, regarding a claimed incident of torching a minority-owned store in Hubballi on December 5, 1992, Srikanth Poojari has been taken into custody by the Hubballi police. Poojari is the third defendant in the case, and eight more defendants are being sought after by the police. Poojari was put under court supervision.
In a similar vein, Hubballi police have also created a list of 300 ‘suspects’ they claim are connected to communal conflicts that occurred between 1992 and 1996, according to the IANS report. The ‘accused’ are now in their early and late 70s, according to police sources, and many of them have left the city.
