BJP makes Hubballi girl murder political

NT Correspondent

Hubballi / Bengaluru: The murder of a college girl inside her campus in Hubballi city has turned into a political slugfest between the Opposition BJP and ruling Congress. Neha Hiremath, the daughter of Congress corporator Niranjan, was stabbed by one Fayaz Khondunaik, a former classmate of the slain girl.

The incident, which was caught on CCTV cameras, occurred in the evening in the BVB College campus in Hubballi where Neha studied Masters of Computer Applications (MCA).

She was declared "brought dead" to a nearby hospital.

The victim’s father Niranjan insisted that Fayaz was merely a classmate who had approached Neha with romantic interests but had been rebuffed due to them belonging to different religious communities.

On the other hand, Home Minister G Parameshwara has suggested that Neha and Fayaz had been in a relationship.

They reckon that Neha tried to distance herself from Fayaz, which angered him and led him to commit the crime.

The saffron party has latched onto the case and projected it as “love jihad”, a phrase coined by the Hindutvawadis, who allege that it is a phenomenon wherein Muslim men prey on Hindu women with malicious intent.

However, others dismiss it as a fiction and point out that the Hindutvawadis regard consensual relationships between Muslim men and Hindu women as “love jihad”.

The BJP’s student wing Akhila Bharatiya Vidhyarthi Parishad (ABVP) had been staging protests, demanding “justice” for the deceased and her family.

Parameshwara denies Oppn claims

Parameshwara said that prima facie it appeared that the perpetrator and the victim had been in a relationship prior to this incident, adding that there was no “love jihad” angle in it.

“According to the information I have, they were in love with each other. The boy may have stabbed the girl when she tried to distance herself from him. The love jihad angle is not seen. He might have feared her marrying someone else and the rest of the details are not known yet," Parameshwara said.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on the other hand defended his government’s track record on law. “Murder happens over personal grudges.

The law and order situation in Karnataka is good. It is the duty of the government to maintain law and order of the state, and we are doing it,” he said.

Bommai, Vijayendra stir pot

Former CM Basavaraj Bommai and BJP state president BY Vijayendra appeared to suggest that there was a communal angle in the murder, adding that law and order had been deteriorating in the state.

Bommai said that Parameshwara had contradicted the city police commissioner’s statement, which suggested that Neha rejected Fayaz’s advances, leading to the murder.

“The local city police commissioner gave us the details but the Home Minister is twisting the facts and looking at it politically in view of their vote bank. They are trying to mislead the people,” he said.

Shivakumar: BJP planning Governor's rule

Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Friday claimed that the BJP is clandestinely planning to impose Governor's rule in the state.

He was responding to the opposition BJP's allegation that the law and order situation has deteriorated following the murder of the daughter of a city civic body councillor in Hubballi, which has sparked widespread condemnation and protests.

"The BJP is trying to threaten us... Karnataka has the best law and order... They want to tell voters that they're going to impose Governor's rule. That's what R Ashoka (BJP leader and Leader of the Opposition) is trying confidentially. They want to place the state under Governor's rule, that's why they are doing this drama,'' he said.