Three people arrested raising “Pakistan zindabad” slogans in Karnataka assembly premises

Bengaluru police arrested three individuals on Monday for allegedly raising “Pakistan Zindabad” slogans inside the Karnataka state secretariat Vidhana Soudha premises, after a Congress leader won the Rajya Sabha election last week. The police statement said the arrests were made based on the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) report, circumstantial evidence and witness accounts.

Three supporters of Congress leader Syed Naseer Hussain had allegedly shouted pro-Pakistan slogans after his victory in the Rajya Sabha elections. Chief minister Siddaramaiah had ordered an investigation by the FSL to check the veracity of the allegations after some Congress leaders had said the visuals were fabricated as people actually were shouting “Naseer Saab Zindabad.”

The sloganeering had sparked a row between the Congress and the opposition BJP, with the latter holding demonstrations to protest the pro-Pakistan slogans, calling them a direct reflection of the Siddaramaiah regime’s appeasement politics. BJP MLAs raised “Jai Sri Ram” slogans in the state assembly during their protest, to which Siddaramaiah responded with “Jai Sita Ram.”


The attacks were exacerbated after Friday, when a popular cafe in Bengaluru’s tech hub suffered an explosion due to an IED, leading to the BJP accusing the Congress of harboring terrorist elements.