BENGALURU: Home Minister G Parameshwara has directed the state police chief to provide security to Kannada writers who have been getting threat letters. A team of writers will meet the Home Minister on Saturday. Writers SG Siddaramaiah, Vasundhara Bhoopathi, Kum Veerabhadrappa, Prof Marulasiddappa, Banajagere Jayaprakash and others have sought police protection, citing the killing of journalist Gauri Lankesh and Prof MM Kalburgi.
In a letter to the Home Minister, Prof Marulasiddappa stated that more than 15 writers and intellectuals have received threat letters from communal forces and people with similar thoughts. Professor Marulasiddappa urged the Home Minister to take steps to safeguard their freedom of speech and expression and direct the police to give them proper protection.
The Home Minister said the state government has taken this matter seriously. “We have not forgotten the killing of Gauri Lankesh and Prof Kalburgi. I have directed the police officers to give protection to writers. We will get all details from the writers during the meeting on Saturday,” he added.
A few months ago, writer Vasundhara Bhupathi filed a complaint at Basaveshwara Nagar police station stating that she received a letter warning her not to associate herself with writers such as Siddaramaiah and Baraguru Ramachandrappa. Kum Veerabhadrappa had received a letter accusing him of being anti-Hindu and to be ready for his funeral.
Banajagere Jayaprakash told The New Indian Express that he had received 13 such letters since June 2022. “We get such letters whenever we give statements against the government on matters such as revision of textbooks. The letters were posted from different parts of the state. The previous BJP government constituted a vigilance team. Even now, we are getting such letters. We will discuss the matter with the Home Minister,” he said.