BENGALURU/MYSURU: BJP on Tuesday slammed the Congress government for “appeasement politics” over the Mysuru flare-up, where a mob surrounded the Udayagiri police station late on Monday night and demanded that the accused, arrested for an offensive social media post, be handed over to them.
During his visit to the police station on Tuesday afternoon, Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R Ashoka condemned the mob for resorting to violence even after the police took the man into custody for allegedly sharing a derogatory social media post.
Drawing parallels between the Congress government’s controversial decision to withdraw cases against individuals involved in a similar attack on a police station in Hubballi, Ashoka blamed Chief Minister Siddaramaiah for setting a precedent that emboldened such people.
He said CCTV cameras have captured the perpetrators and the police should act without delay. Criticising the administration for allowing the situation to escalate, where police stations are surrounded and attacked, he linked it to the broader law and order crisis in the state.
Condemning the incident, where stones were thrown at the police station, he said it is a crime and cannot be pardoned.
Ashoka said that if the situation had escalated even slightly, the police station would have been set on fire. “There is no law and order in the state. This is similar to the Hubballi stone-throwing incident. The mob brought stones in bags. They have got the courage to damage a police station. Even the police could not do anything, as they know if they take action, the government will not support them. For vote bank politics, the ruling party is spoiling the entire system,’’ he added.
Ashoka said, “We have received information that certain organisations like the Karnataka Forum for Dignity and the Popular Front of India are operational in Mysuru. We have information that members from these organisation from Kerala are involved in murder, kidnapping and other cases in Karnataka,’’ he said.
Former CM Basavaraj Bommai said the Mysuru incident is similar to the ones in Mangaluru, KG Halli in Bengaluru and Hubballi. “When we were in power, we had taken action against miscreants. But the Congress government withdrew cases against them. How did these people get the courage to attack the police? Are there any politicians behind them,’’ he asked.
BJP state president BY Vijayendra said the government has to take action against the miscreants or things will get worse. He too blamed appeasement politics for such incidents.