BJP demands NIA probe into killings of BJP/RSS activists

Hitting out at the Congress government in Karnataka for its "failure" to maintain law and order, the party accused it of going soft on PFI, which it alleged was "transformation" of the banned SIMI.

Belagavi (Ktk), Nov 30: Seeking a ban on Kerala-based Popular Front of India (PFI), BJP today demanded an NIA probe into the spate of recent killings of activists belonging to the party and the Sangh Parivar in Karnataka.

Hitting out at the Congress government in Karnataka for its "failure" to maintain law and order, the party accused it of going soft on PFI, which it alleged was "transformation" of the banned Students' Islamic Movement of India (SIMI).

"14 people belonging to BJP or Sangh Parivar or RSS have been killed, from Prashant Poojary to Rudresh. Eight of them have sustained life threatening attacks," BJP leader and former state Deputy Chief Minister R Ashoka said. Initiating a debate on law and order situation in the state, he alleged, "In these incidents, the people with nationalist thoughts were singled out by anti-national forces."

"It is clear and I have no hesitation in saying that KFD (Karnataka Forum for Dignity) and PFI are behind these incidents," he added. A senior PFI functionary was arrested earlier this month in connection with the murder of Rudresh, an RSS worker in Bengaluru. Pointing out that previous governments in Kerala had filed affidavits in the court against PFI, Ashoka said PFI is "transformation" of SIMI.

"When Kerala, which is their (PFI's) base, had taken such steps, our government here withdrew cases against PFI and KFD despite opposition from police department," he added.

Alleging that the law and order situation in Karnataka has deteriorated under the Congress government, Ashoka, who had also served as state Home Minister during BJP rule, said, "The government is behaving as though nothing has happened." He compared the state government to 'Dhritarashtra', a character from Hindu epic Mahabharata.

Quoting National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) statistics to say that Karnataka stands number two in the country for communal violence, Ashoka alleged that crimes against SC/ST, cyber crime and political violence have increased in the state.

Targeting Home Minister G Parameshwara, Ashoka said he was not given a free hand and police department officials did not know whose instructions to follow. BJP's K G Bopaiah, C T Ravi and Narayana Swamy also participated in the discussion. While Ravi criticised the government for putting the farmers behind bars, but not PFI activists, Swamy demanded a whitepaper on law and order situation in the state.

PTI