Bengaluru: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders Tejasvi Surya, Shobha Karandlaje, and Suresh Kumar Tuesday joined protesters who’ve been reciting the ‘Hanuman Chalisa’ at Nagarathpete in Bengaluru.
The protests started Monday after CCTV footage of six males assaulting a store proprietor within the space began doing the rounds on social media. Surya had later claimed that Mukesh was taking part in ‘Hanuman Chalisa’, fuelling protests within the space.
The sufferer, Mukesh, in his grievance, stated six males, together with two Hindus, requested him to cease taking part in ‘music’ on Sunday night because it was time for Azaan at a close-by mosque and assaulted him when he refused.
On Tuesday, Hindutva teams and BJP leaders argued with police as they chanted ‘Jai Shri Ram’ and ‘Vande Mataram’. “This is a demand for justice. The government instead of trying to give him (Mukesh) swift justice, is trying to defend those who have perpetrated this crime only because this suits its vote-bank politics,” Surya informed reporters.
Apart from the 17 March incident, the BJP has raised issues over ‘appeasement politics’, ‘Pakistan Zindabad‘ slogans in the Vidhan Sabha, and the Rameshwaram Cafe blast in the run-up to the Lok Sabha election.
“These radical elements draw strength from the fact that the government… the chief minister, straight, stands in their defence,” Surya alleged. “They know the might of the government will come to support them, which is why they put up statuses (on social media) like ‘aaj jail, kal bail, phir wahi khel’.”
The Bengaluru South MP was additionally detained shortly after he participated within the protest.
Wearing a saffron scarf, Mukesh additionally took half within the protests Tuesday. “If something more had happened… if I had died, who would be responsible? I am happy and feeling good that some people have come to support me,” he informed reporters.
When the police tried to escort Mukesh out of the realm to include the rising protests, BJP chief Suresh Kumar waylaid the police automobile. The police needed to let Mukesh go, and protesters escorted him to the entrance because the face of the marketing campaign.
Karandlaje informed NewsNation that the Congress-led state authorities shouldn’t be taking motion in a number of circumstances and taking part in vote-bank politics, which is sinking Karnataka.
“In the Vidhana Soudha, they raised ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ slogans, but there was no case for a week. Secondly, they (the accused in the Rameshwaram Cafe blast) came from Tamil Nadu, and placed a bomb here… Thirdly, people came from Kerala and poured acid on three students,” she alleged.
Karandlaje has demanded the arrest of all of the accused within the ‘Hanuman Chalisa’ case and the resignation of Karnataka Home Minister G. Parameshwara.
A day earlier than, Karnataka Health Minister and Congress MLA Dinesh Gundu Rao dismissed claims that Mukesh was taking part in ‘Hanuman Chalisa’.
Rao, in response to a submit on ‘X’ from Surya, stated the lads who attacked Mukesh included Hindus, as effectively. “Why will Hindus attack a Hindu shopkeeper over Azaan? Who has said that Hanuman Chalisa was being played?” he tweeted.
As standard @Tejasvi_Surya tries to unfold hatred.
The boys who’ve attacked the Hindu shopkeeper are each Hindus and Muslims.
Why will Hindus assault a Hindu shopkeeper over Azaan.
Who has stated that Hanuman Chalisa was being performed?
What makes you leap to the conclusion that… https://t.co/6WhxRBTJfQ
— Dinesh Gundu Rao/ದಿನೇಶ್ ಗುಂಡೂರಾವ್ (@dineshgrao) March 18, 2024
The Surya submit on ‘X’ had stated, “A Hindu shopkeeper who was playing bhajans at his shop was assaulted by anti-social elements saying Bhajans aren’t allowed during the time of Azaan.”
According to Mukesh’s grievance that ThePrint has seen, Suleman, Shahnawaz, Rohit, Danish, Taruna, and others are accused of assaulting him after he refused to cease taking part in music. There isn’t any point out of ‘Hanuman Chalisa’ within the hand-written grievance or the FIR.
However, Mukesh’s father Gopal Singh informed ANI Tuesday, “The songs we play in the evening are of God’s. When there is puja, whose else’s song will we play? It is probably Hanuman Chalisa. I was not here (at the shop), my boy (son) is saying this… by the time I reached, he was bloodied.”
“This (assault) happened because of the volume. They asked him to lower the volume… it was ‘Hanuman Chalisa’… whatever it was… they (attackers) came to intimidate him to lower the volume. Then, they caught him and started hitting him,” he added.
Since the BJP misplaced energy within the May 2023 Karnataka election, it has been calling out the Congress-led authorities for “appeasement politics” and “emboldening” radical components.
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)
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