Cong chief Shivakumar defends his statement on Mangaluru blast

Koppal: Karnataka Congress President D K Shivakumar on Friday accused the ruling BJP in the state of making a “big attempt” to cover up the voter data theft scandal, as he tried to defend his statement suggesting that the Mangaluru pressure cooker blast was “orchestrated” by the saffron party government.

The Congress leader also said that he doesn’t want anyone’s support on the issue, and asserted that his stand and information were “pucca”. “What I have said is, in the cooker blast incident, the Mangaluru Police Commissioner after the incident said: to identify whether the person behind the blast is a terrorist or not, investigation is still to be conducted. He (accused) is not in the position to talk as he is unconscious, and the media should not arrive at any conclusion in haste,” Shivakumar said referring to his recent statement.

“But, even before the Mangaluru Commissioner’s statement on the issue, the Director General of Police was used by the BJP government to divert the public attention from the voter data theft scandal,” the state Congress chief said.

Earlier in the day, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said its doesn’t befit Shivakumar as the Karnataka PCC president to say that the blast was a cover-up. Addressing a media interaction on Thursday, Shivakumar had alleged that the Mangaluru pressure cooker blast was “orchestrated” by the BJP government to divert attention away from the voter data theft scandal.

Referring to the November 19 blast in Mangaluru, he had said: “Who asked the Director General of Police to declare that it was a terror act without investigation? Who is the terrorist? Was it an act of terrorism like in Mumbai, Delhi, Kashmir or Pulwama?”

His statement elicited sharp reactions from the ruling BJP. Asked about Congress leaders not jumping to his support, amid sharp criticism from the ruling BJP, and whether he was “alone” on the issue, the KPCC president on Friday said, “I don’t want anyone... I don’t want anyone’s support. My stand and information on this is pucca.”

“As the Congress party (state) president, I’m saying that the BJP, to cover up their mistakes, made a big attempt to deviate from the issue, and several such cover-ups have taken place in the past,” he said, adding that BJP always “targets” him.

Last month, the Congress had alleged that non-profit organisation Chilume Trust, assigned by the Bengaluru civic agency to spread awareness among voters, collected details of the voters such as name, mother tongue, gender, religion, caste, voter ID number, and the Aadhaar number.

The Bengaluru city police, probing the case, have arrested the co-founder of Chilume Trust Krishnappa Ravikumar, the main accused. Mohammed Shariq, a youth from Tirthahalli in Shivamogga district, was carrying an improvised explosive device (IED) in a pressure cooker in an autorickshaw when it exploded on the outskirts of Mangaluru on November 19. Shariq had suffered burns in the blast and recovered from the injuries a few days ago. —PTI