BJP conspiring to kill Priyank for exposing govt scams, alleges Patil

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: State Congress came down heavily against Kalaburagi BJP leader Manikanta Rathod threatening to shoot Congress MLA from Chittapur Priyank Kharge and staged protests over the same in Kalaburagi city on Saturday.

District party leadership chose the office of the Superintendent of Police (SP) of Kalaburgi as the venue of the protests, claiming that there was a danger to Kharge’s life. Former minister and Congress leader from the district Sharanprakash Patil held a press conference and went so far as to allege that there had been a plot to kill Kharge.

“I strongly condemn how the State government has withdrawn the security cover of Mr Kharge, when there was a threat to his life. Mr Kharge got threatening calls for exposing the government’s corruption and we lodged a complaint at Sadashiva Nagar Police station at Bengaluru,” he said.

Patil went on to claim that Priyank had been relentlessly targeted the BJP in the past because the Opposition leader had “exposed” the State government in many “scams” including the alleged irregularities in the Police Sub-Inspector recruitment process.

The Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) Twitter handle slammed the BJP, claiming that their mentality was similar to that of Nathuram Godse, Gandhi’s assassin. “The BJP, which has descended from Godse has displayed that it has the same mentality and culture as the Taliban,” it said. “Earlier, they threw eggs at Siddaramaiah.

Today they are threatening to shoot Priyank Kharge. Why would the Congress, who fought against the British boldly fear cowards such as the BJP, who are no different extremists,” they added. The controversy erupted when BJP workers put up posters in Chittapur saying ‘Priyank Kharge Missing’ from his constituency.

This elicited protests from Kharge’s supporters in Wadi and Chittapur. Kharge had retorted with “if we made up our minds, we would not let BJP leaders roam on the streets.” Rathod, who is a saffron party leader from the same district, escalated the matter with the statement: “Will you shoot us with an AK 47 or cannon. You shoot us. We are ready to die. We are also ready to shoot you.”