Rajnath Singh blames Congress for political violence in poll-bound Karnataka

Accusing the ruling Congress in Karnataka of following the Kerala "model" in fuelling political violence, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday vowed to end the menace if the BJP came to power after the May 12 state assembly elections.

"It appears the Congress government in Karnataka is following the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government in Kerala in allegedly killing political workers of rival parties. We will put an end to it when we come to power," said Singh at a campaign for the party's candidates in the state's coastal region. The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is contesting from all the 224 assembly segments across the state in a bid to return to power after it lost to the Congress in the May 2013 elections following a split in it.

The BJP has been holding the Congress responsible for the death of its 24 cadres and workers of right-wing RSS in the state's coastal region during its rule over the last five years. "Many of our political workers were allegedly killed under the Congress rule. We will end the culture of political violence when we return to power in the state," reiterated Singh at the party's rallies at Karkala, Belthangady and Udupi in Dakshina Kannada district.

Alarmed over the deteriorating law and order situation in the state, the Home Minister asked the public who was responsible for a police officer's death in the area and who humiliated former Mysuru Deputy Commissioner C. Shikha. "The law and order situation is so bad in Karnataka that even its Lokayukta (anti-graft ombudsman) was stabbed in his office in Bengaluru, allegedly by a trader over a month ago," lamented Singh.

The BJP veteran leader was referring to the alleged suicide of Mangaluru Deputy Superintendent of Police M.K. Ganapathi at Madikeri in Kodagu district on July 7, 2016, hours after he accused in a television interview state's cabinet minister K.J. George of harassing him during his tenure as home minister earlier. Shikha, a IAS woman officer, was allegedly threatened by a ruling party's leader, reportedly close to state Chief Minister Siddaramaiah at Mysuru.

State Lokayukta Justice P Vishwanath Shetty was stabbed by a disgruntled trader from Tumakuru on March 7 in his chamber when he went inside to complaint against some state officials for allegedly not awarding him a business contract. Shetty, 73, returned to work on Monday after recovering from multiple injuries he sustained in the stabbing incident.

Singh also blamed the Siddaramaiah government for the alleged suicides by over 3,700 farmers during its tenure due to agrarian crisis following consecutive droughts and crop failures. "Though Siddaramaiah promised to pay Rs 1 lakh each to the families of farmers who committed suicide, they did not receive the compensation, which shows lack of sensitivity of the Congress government," asserted Singh.

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