Former Karnataka BJP chief and Dakshina Kannada MP Nalin Kumar Kateel on Thursday demanded the arrest of Congress MLC B K Hariprasad for saying he fears that a Godhra-like incident might be orchestrated in Karnataka ahead of the January 22 Ram temple consecration.
Former Karnataka BJP president Nalin Kumar Kateel.
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Addressing reporters here, Kateel said if the Congress leader has any information on a planned attack, he should inform the state home department.
Otherwise, he should be arrested for spreading canards, the MP said. Kateel claimed that Congress was behind the Godhra train fire of February 27, 2002 in which 59 kar sevaks and Hindu pilgrims died.
He went on to claim that the gruesome attack, which resulted in the deadly Gujarat riots that left about 2,000 people dead, and for which his party members had been under investigation, was part of a plot hatched by Congress to bring down the then Gujarat government led by Narendra Modi.
He alleged that Hariprasad’s statement indicates that Congress would repeat such a purported act again. On former MLA Yatindra Siddaramaiah’s controversial statement that if India becomes a 'Hindu rashtra', it will become like Pakistan and Afghanistan under a dictatorship, Kateel insisted that India has always been a Hindu country.
“Mahatma Gandhi wanted the country to have Ram rajya, and not be a secular country," he claimed. "The idea of Ram rajya is itself the idea of Hindu rashtra,” he added.
"There is Ram in Siddaramaiah’s name too though his character is that of Ravan," the former state BJP chief mocked. Endorsing the 'I am Kar Sevak, arrest me' campaign launched by BJP MLA V Sunil Kumar, Kateel said he was also a kar sevak and dared the government to arrest him as well.
Yamini CS is a Senior Content Producer at Hindustan Times with nearly six years of experience in digital journalism. She is part of the India News desk, where she works on a wide range of stories cutting across civic issues, city-based developments, politics, governance, public policy, breaking news, trending topics, and international affairs that have an impact on India. Her role involves tracking fast-moving developments, verifying information from official and on-ground sources, and presenting news in a clear, accessible format for a digital-first audience. A significant part of her work includes handling live blogs during major news events, such as elections, court verdicts, political developments, civic disruptions, protests, weather-related alerts, and unfolding national or international incidents. Through live coverage, she focuses on timely updates to help readers follow complex stories as they evolve. Before moving to the broader India News desk, Yamini was associated with the Bengaluru desk at Hindustan Times, where she extensively covered urban governance, infrastructure, traffic and transport issues, weather events, public grievances, and civic administration in the city. This experience strengthened her grounding in city reporting and sharpened her focus on citizen-centric journalism. She began her career as a correspondent with Reuters after completing a postgraduate diploma in journalism from the Indian Institute of Journalism and New Media. Her early training instilled a strong emphasis on accuracy, sourcing, and news ethics, which continue to shape her reporting style. Outside of work, Yamini enjoys reading across genres, listening to music, and spending time with her family, which help her maintain balance in a fast-paced newsroom environment.
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