Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah defends arrest of Kar Sevaks, hits back at BJP

Karnataka: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday defended the arrest of two kar sevaks amid attacks by the BJP leaders including union minister Pralhad Joshi, state president Vijayendra Yediyurappa, Opposition leader R Ashoka and former CM Basavaraj Bommai, who have questioned the propriety of the government action ahead of the opening of Ram Mandir at Ayodhya.

The Hubballi-Dharwad Police have arrested two persons, who are in their 60s now, for participating in the Ayodhya march 31 years ago.

The CM, speaking to media at Vijayapura, lashed out at Joshi, who represents Dharwad in the Lok Sabha, saying a criminal was always a criminal until cleared by a court of law. “A crime does not fade away with time. Until a court acquits, a criminal remains a criminal,” Siddaramaiah said wondering aloud if the union minister knew the matters of law.


While the government was going by the law of the land while Joshi was looking at the issue politically, the CM said after the issue threatened to snowball into a major political issue.

The police acted on orders from Home Minister G Parameshwara, who wanted the police to pursue old cases and dispose them of, Siddaramaiah said, while denying the government indulged in the politics of vendetta. “What should be done to wrong-doers. Should they be let off,” the CM asked at the Koppal air strip.

Vijayendra Yediyurappa said the Congress regime was targeting Hindus at a time the nation was celebrating the auspicious occasion of opening of Ram Mandir. “Congress govt has always put hurdles on the construction of Ram Mandir at every step from the beginning. As if that was not enough, instead of making amends, even now it is trying to stop Ram Bhakts from celebrating during this over joyous occasion,” he said in a statement.

Joshi, speaking to the media, said the government action showed desperation on the part of Siddaramaiah who had been caught between hard choices: if he decided to attend the Ram temple event, opponents of the Mandir would feel offended. If he were to skip, the devotees of Lord Ram will question. To overcome this confusion, Siddaramaiah was digging 30 year old cases, Joshi said.