Ballari violence: Siddaramaiah questions BJP's moral right on CBI probe

Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah slammed the BJP's demand for a CBI probe into the Ballari violence, questioning their moral authority. The BJP has alleged that Congress MLA Nara Bharath Reddy is behind the murder of a Congress worker amid the violence.

Siddaramaiah questions BJP's 'moral right' for CBI probe

Calling the Bharatiya Janata Party's demand to hand over the Ballari violence case to the CBI a matter of concern, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday accused the BJP of not believing in democracy.

Questioning the BJP's stand, Siddaramaiah asked which cases the party had ever referred to the CBI when it was in power and what moral authority it had to make such demands. The Chief Minister said he had himself referred eight cases to the CBI in the past, including the George and Soujanya cases. "The BJP's statement that the Ballari case should be given to the CBI is a matter of concern. Let the BJP tell us which cases it has given to the CBI before. Which cases did it give when it was in power? What moral right does it have?... I have given 8 cases to the CBI before. I gave the George case and the Soujanya case to the CBI. Which case did the BJP give?... BJP does not believe in democracy, they believe in dictatorship," Siddaramaiah told reporters.

BJP alleges Congress MLA's involvement, demands arrest

A Congress worker named Rajshekar was killed on January 1 amid violence which erupted in Ballari during preparations for the unveiling of the Maharishi Valmiki statue at SP Circle. BJP MLA Janardhan Reddy has claimed that the party worker was killed at the direction of Congress MLA Nara Bharath Reddy. He further alleged that there is an attempt to pin the murder on him and the party. "With thousands of people and this innocent boy, who came along with Bharath Reddy only. With his direction, only he has been killed. We demand his arrest. Nara Bharat Reddy has to be arrested immediately. After fifteen days also, they have arrested two gunmen. These private gunmen belong only to Bharat Reddy, not to Satish Reddy (BJP MLA). When they came around 9 o'clock to my home, along with Bharat Reddy only, they fired intentionally at a Congress Karyakarta," the BJP leader told ANI.

The BJP had also planned a padyatra on January 20 to protest against the Congress-led government, which was later postponed. Janardhana Reddy has called for the arrest of the Congress MLA Nara Bharat Reddy representing the Ballari assembly constituency, and a CBI inquiry, adding, "They want to shift the murder incident on the BJP and me. Now, the government and the police have come to know. They already arrested two private gunmen. We demand Bharat Reddy's arrest, and we demand a CBI inquiry." (ANI)

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