‘Is this Sri Lanka?’ Janardhana Reddy asks Siddaramaiah after attack on his residence
Bengaluru: Criticising the Congress-led Karnataka government for its reluctance to hand over the Ballari violence case to the CBI, mining baron and BJP MLA Gali Janardhana Reddy on Monday asked whether the state was heading towards a situation akin to Sri Lanka.
Speaking to reporters at the BJP headquarters in Bengaluru, Reddy, referring to the attack on his residence in Ballari, said, “Has Karnataka become Sri Lanka? Can a legislator’s house be attacked in this manner?”
Reddy accused Chief Minister Siddaramaiah of downplaying the gravity of the Ballari violence, in which Ballari MLA Nara Bharath Reddy allegedly arrived with thousands of supporters, hurled petrol bombs and unleashed violence that led to the death of a party worker and an attempt on his own life.
“It was decided at the BJP core committee meeting to demand a CBI probe. The demand was reiterated during the protest rally held in Ballari last Saturday. However, the Chief Minister responded by saying that he had handed over seven cases to the CBI and questioned whether the BJP had handed over even one case during its tenure,” Reddy said.
“This is not about the number of cases handed over during the tenures of former Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa or Siddaramaiah. If the Chief Minister truly believes in justice and boasts of handing over seven cases, why is he hesitating to hand over this one?” he asked.
Reddy alleged that the hesitation stemmed from the fact that the violence involved a Congress legislator and had resulted in the killing of a party worker. “By merely arresting three gunmen and transferring the probe to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), it appears there is an attempt to hush up the case and make people forget the episode,” he alleged.
He further accused the Chief Minister of diverting attention by raising unrelated issues such as illegal mining and the proposed padyatra. “Instead of explaining why the case is not being handed over to the CBI, he is misleading the public by talking about illegal mining and claiming that the BJP is undertaking the padyatra out of jealousy,” Reddy said.
Referring to recent incidents linked to the Valmiki community, Reddy said an innocent government employee had died by suicide in the Valmiki scam case, while a Congress worker was killed during the installation of a banner related to a Valmiki statue, besides the attempt on his own life.
“How many people do you want to eliminate in the name of Maharshi Valmiki?” he asked.
Reddy said that in this backdrop, former minister B. Sriramulu, a prominent leader of the Valmiki community, had decided to undertake a padyatra from Ballari to Bengaluru. “There is no negative intent behind the padyatra. You have done nothing for the community. How many more people do you want to kill in the name of Maharshi Valmiki?” he said.
He added that BJP state president B.Y. Vijayendra had clarified that the decision to hold the padyatra was unanimous and that the date would be finalised after January 20 in consultation with the party high command.
Reddy also took a swipe at Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, alleging that he prioritised image over responsibility. “For the sake of his image, he went ahead with a speech during the RCB Cup celebrations even when 11 people had died in a stampede. When gunshots were fired at a legislator and a worker was killed, what can we expect from such leaders?” he asked.
“I displayed the bullet pellet to the public on the day of the shootout, and seven bullets have since been recovered from the premises of my residence. We also have video footage showing the deceased worker being shot from behind, which is currently being verified,” he said.