Haveri (Karnataka), May 4 Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday said that a special force is needed to detect and tackle anti-social elements.
On the government’s plan to form a task force to control violence in the communally sensitive coastal region of the state, the Chief Minister, addressing the media at the N.D.P.U. College premises in Akki Alur in Haveri district, said that he would discuss the matter with Home Minister G. Parameshwara and take appropriate steps.
Coastal Mangaluru city recently witnessed incidents of mob lynching and murder of a Hindu activist, posing a serious challenge to the law and order situation.
Asked whether the compensation amount of Rs 25 lakh by the Congress-led government to the family of the deceased Fazil Mohammad was misused to fund Hindu activist Suhas Shetty's murder, CM Siddaramaiah stated that he doesn't have any details in this regard.
The investigation into the Shetty murder has revealed that Fazil's brother had allegedly funded the crime. Now, it is suspected whether Fazil's brother, arrested in the Shetty murder case, had used the compensation amount of Rs 25 lakh given by the Congress-led government to avenge Fazil's murder.
Fazil was murdered by the Shetty-led gang in retaliation for the murder of BJP worker Praveen Kumar Nettaru in 2022, amid the hijab issue.
Siddaramaiah also said that Home Minister Parameshwara and Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao, who is also in charge of Mangaluru district, had visited Mangaluru, where the incident occurred, and he will respond to the question after he speaks to them.
Responding to a media query about whether the government has planned any special events marking its two-year tenure, the Chief Minister said that a two-year achievement programme has been organised in the Vijayanagara district.
Criticising those who earlier accused him of creating divisions through the caste census, the Chief Minister said: "Now the same people are welcoming the caste census being conducted by the Central government with an open mind. It’s as if sacred water becomes holy only if it comes from a conch! Earlier, they made political statements, not based on facts - doesn’t that become clear now?"
On JD-S supremo and former Prime Minister Deve Gowda’s statement that the Congress is following a double standard on Pakistan, Siddaramaiah said: "Before joining hands with the BJP, what was Deve Gowda saying about Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and what is he saying now? It’s Deve Gowda who is showing double standards."
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