Karnataka: BJP Leader Arrested, Released on Bail for Threatening to Shoot Congress MLA

BJP leader Manikanth Rathod was arrested in Hyderabad under charges of criminal intimidation, but was released on station bail the very next day, drawing protests from Congress leaders in Karnataka demanding action against him.

New Delhi: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader from Karnataka’s Kalaburagi district, Manikanth Rathod, was arrested from Hyderabad on Sunday, November 13, for allegedly threatening to murder Karnataka Congress MLA Priyank Kharge. Rathod was, however, released on station bail the following day. According to a report in the Indian Express, local BJP leaders had carried out a campaign against the Congress leader on November 8 in his constituency of Chittapur in Kalaburagi where they put up posters saying Kharge was missing. The Congress leader responded by saying that he would make it difficult for BJP leaders to move around if they continued with such antics. Kharge is also the chairman of communications for the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) and son of All India Congress Committee (AICC) chief Mallikarjun Kharge, Following Kharge’s strong words, Rathod, at a November 11 press conference, had said that he and other BJP leaders were not afraid of the Congress leader and threatened to shoot him. “You (Kharge) can shoot us with an AK-47 rifle or a gun. We are ready to die. We are also ready to shoot you,” the Express quoted Rathod as saying. The day after the press conference, KPCC vice president Thippanna Kamakanur lodged a complaint against the BJP leader at the Brahmapur police station in Kalaburagi. According to a report in the Hindu, the Brahmapur police registered a case against Rathod on Saturday under Indian Penal Code (IPC) Section 506 (criminal intimidation). However, Rathod reportedly absconded after the case was registered, prompting the police to form a five-member team which went to Hyderabad and arrested him the next day. Sunday also saw protests from a number of state Congress leaders seeking action against Rathod, warning that they would wave black flags and disrupt a programme by chief minister Basavaraj Bommai scheduled for Monday if this was not done. According to the Express report, Congress workers also “laid siege” to the office of the Kalaburagi superintendent of police (SP). On Monday, Bommai travelled to Madiyal in Kalaburagi to lay the foundation stone for the Government Higher Primary School, launching the state government’s ‘Viveka’ scheme under which over 7,500 new classrooms would be built across Karnataka. However, controversy surrounded the launch of the scheme as state school education minister B.C. Nagesh had announced a day prior that all classrooms constructed under this scheme would be painted saffron. Kharge was among the Opposition leaders who spoke out against the BJP-led state government’s proposed move, noting that with other problems in the state’s schools, such as poor infrastructure, a shortage of teachers and high drop-out rates, the government’s focus on the colour of the walls is misplaced.

thewire