Karnataka Congress 'patronised' radical outfits, alleges former minister Roshan Baig
Bengaluru: Expelled Congress leader R Roshan Baig has alleged that the party in Karnataka had patronised "extreme radical" organisations for over a decade and that MLA R Akhanda Srinivasa Murthy, targeted in recent mob fury here, was a victim of SDPI's 'violence'.
A former state minister, he also claimed the "tacit understanding" was now backfiring on the Congress.
"The Karnataka Congress patronised extreme radical organisations like SDPI for over a decade and I had raised voice against this from day one," he claimed in a statement posted on his Twitter handle.
His charge was dismissed by Charamarajpet Congress MLA B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan, who sought to turn the tables on him, hinting the former had an understanding with the SDPI and was trying to distance himself from the outfit now.
Baig, who has been expelled from Congress for 'anti-party' activities, claimed he had been requesting a ban on these organisations but to no avail.
His allegations come at a time when the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) has come under the Police radar with the arrest of four of its members for alleged involvement in the August 11 violence at K G Halli and D J Halli areas over a social media post by Murthy's nephew.
Baig, a former Shivaji Nagar MLA, also slammed the Congress for "not backing" its two MLAs Tanveer Sait and Murthy "even when they were direct victims of the SDPI's violence".
Sait was stabbed at a function in Mysuru a few months ago while Murthy's house was reduced to ruins by the rioters on August 11.
Attacking Baig, Khan alleged the former was distancing himself from SDPI and targeting Congress because he might have sensed he may face the heat of police investigation (into the riot).
"Why did the SDPI contest the Shivaji Nagar assembly by-polls. It had never entered the fray whenever Baig was fighting the election? Baig should explain who had fielded SDPI to divide the minority votes and defeat the Congress," he said.
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Congress using hijab issue to pacify minority anger, alleges Karnataka LoP R Ashoka
Bengaluru: Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R. Ashoka has accused the Congress government of using the hijab issue to placate what he described as discontent among minority voters after the Davanagere by-election.
In a post on X on Wednesday, Ashoka alleged that the state government, instead of addressing issues such as price rise, corruption, farmers’ distress and law and order, was attempting to retain its minority vote base by reviving the hijab issue.
Referring to the 2022 dress code introduced by the BJP government, which prohibited hijab in schools and colleges, Ashoka said the Karnataka High Court had upheld the policy and emphasised the importance of discipline in educational institutions.
He questioned the Congress government’s move to revisit the issue and asked whether setting aside the court-backed policy to benefit one community could be described as secularism.
Ashoka further alleged that while the government was willing to permit hijab, it continued to prohibit saffron shawls.
He accused the government of dividing students on religious lines rather than treating schools and colleges as spaces of equality.
Drawing a comparison with Mamata Banerjee’s government in West Bengal, Ashoka claimed that excessive appeasement politics had harmed the state and warned that the Congress in Karnataka could face a similar political response.
He said voters in Karnataka would teach the Congress a lesson for what he termed “vote-bank politics” and for compromising constitutional and judicial principles.
