Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], June 9 : Karnataka BJP President BY Vijayendra targeted the Siddaramaiah government over the murder of former Bajrang Dal activist Suhas Shetty. He called the Congress government "anti-Hindu" and alleged that the Hindu activists have been constantly attacked in the state.
Speaking to ANI on Monday, Vijayendra said, "Hindu karyakartas have been consistently attacked here in the state ever since Congress has come to power... Due to the appeasement politics of the Siddaramaiah government, no action has been taken so far against any organisation or anti-national elements... In the recent Suhas Shetty murder case, the Home Minister was forced to cancel his visit to Suhas Shetty's house. This Siddaramaiah government is anti-Hindu."
He added that the party workers had met the Governor of Karnataka, Thaawar Chand Gehlot, and demanded that the investigation be transferred to the National Investigating Agency (NIA), which the Centre agreed to.
"BJP workers met the Governor and we demanded an investigation by the NIA, which the state government did not accept, but the Centre fortunately agreed to..." he said.
Earlier, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) handed over the investigation into the murder of former Bajrang Dal activist Suhas Shetty to the NIA, marking a significant move amid rising concerns over possible larger conspiracies behind the incident.
Shetty, a prominent right-wing youth leader associated with the Bajrang Dal in Karnataka's coastal belt, was brutally murdered last month in Sullia town of Dakshina Kannada district. The activist, in his early 30s, was attacked by unidentified assailants while returning home late at night. He succumbed to his injuries on the spot.
The incident triggered widespread protests in the region, with local Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) units alleging a targeted killing.
Official sources, privy to the development, told ANI that "the MHA has handed over the case to the NIA for investigation and registration."