Bengaluru(PTI): In a major show of strength, the Bharatiya Janata Party in Karnataka on Saturday organised the 'Jana Spandana' programme celebrating three years of the party's rule in the state, at Doddaballapura in Bengaluru Rural district.

The event, named 'Jana Spandana' (public response), in this bustling town is also an occasion to mark Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai's one year in office.

According to Bommai, two lakh people from various parts of the state are participating in this event. Union Minister for Woman and Child Welfare Smriti Irani is also participating in this event, he said.

The celebration was supposed to be held on July 28 when Bommai completed one year as Chief Minister. However, due to the murder of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha leader Praveen Nettar in Dakshina Kannada district on July 26, the government decided not to postpone the celebrations.

The day Nettar was hacked to death allegedly by a group of Muslim youth happened to be the third anniversary of the BJP government in Karnataka. The incident triggered massive outrage from BJP workers and various right-wing organisations compelling the government to defer the celebrations.

Besides Chief Minister Bommai, BJP strongman B S Yediyurappa, party's state president Nalin Kumar Kateel, ministers in the government including Health Minister K Sudhakar, who is an MLA from Chikkaballapura, are among the prominent people attending the event.

A party worker said 5,000 buses have been arranged to ferry the party workers, supporters and well-wishers. Large number of people thronged the venue.

Elaborate security arrangements have been made to avert any untoward incident. Many cooks have been toiling since early morning to feed the massive crowd that would turn up here.

The event assumes significance as the state assembly elections are expected to be held next year.

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Kottayam (Kerala), Jan 11: Kerala BJP leader P C George has been booked for allegedly making remarks that could incite religious hatred, police said on Saturday.

George was accused of hate speech against a minority community during a TV discussion held early this week, sources said.

The Erattupetta Police here registered a case against the senior leader on Friday based on a complaint filed by the Muslim Youth League Municipal Committee.

He was booked under various sections of the BNS, police said adding that further proceedings would be initiated soon.

"The case was registered after the statements of the complainants were recorded," a police officer said. Meanwhile, BJP strongly condemned the police case against George and alleged that it was a "political vendetta by the LDF government."

Senior BJP leader and the party's Kerala in-charge Prakash Javadekar accused the CPI(M)-led Left government of not saying a word against Hamas and admitting PDF followers into their fold.

Justifying George, Javadekar said he has already clarified that his intention was to express opposition to extremism and not to target any community.

"FIR against PC George is political vendetta by LDF government, which doesn't say a word against Hamas and admits PDF followers into their fold," he posted on his 'X' handle.

"UDF is also guilty of appeasing extremist politics. It never appreciated ban on PDF or condemned Hamas. PC George has already clarified that his intention was to express opposition to extremism & not to target any community. Kerala stands firmly against extremism," he added.

BJP state chief K Surendran also criticised the Pinarayi Vijayan government for registering the case against George and said the party would face the case legally and politically.

He also alleged that the government registered the case against the senior leader under the pressure of communal forces.