Karnataka: Congress, BJP row over UK professor barred from entering India

The ruling Congress in Karnataka and BJP have locked horns over UK professor Nitasha Kaul being denied entry into India for the state-organised conference on the Constitution over the last weekend. The ruling Congress has hit out at the BJP, calling the incident yet another example of how the Centre restricts both individual and state rights.

“It is a stark reminder of the multiple challenges to the constitutional idea of India. All patriotic Indians must reflect on these threats and unite to reclaim our Constitution,” Social Welfare Minister H C Mahadevappa said on Monday. The Karnataka government, he added, had every right to host a programme on Constitution awareness and invite an expert to speak at the convention.

Industries Minister MB Patil said the incident showed what type of democracy there was in India. “This is not a good thing for our country because in our country Baba Saheb Ambedkar has given a world class Constitution where everyone’s views are respected. There is a freedom to talk,” he said.


The opposition BJP, meanwhile, has denounced the regime for inviting Kaul, who the party described as a “known terrorist sympathiser & one who constantly spews venom & disseminates anti-India propaganda.” Taking to social media platform X, state party president BY Vijayendra called it “unpardonable” that she was given a “red-carpet welcome.”

The party accused Chief minister Siddaramaiah of inviting a “Pakistan sympathiser” to the state on X. “It is now apparent that the Congress party is now using Karnataka as its laboratory to prepare ground for its divisive agendas, potentially undermining national unity & integrity,” the party tweeted.

The ruckus began when Kaul, a professor of Politics, International Relations, and Critical Interdisciplinary studies at the University of Westminster – and an Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) – alleged that she was denied entry at Bengaluru airport despite her passport and OCI documents being in order. The immigration officials, she said, were “following orders from Delhi.” The professor further alleged that she was kept in a “holding cell with restrictions on movement” till she could catch the next flight back to the UK after 24 hours.