Kumaraswamy slams CM Bommai over recent killings in Karnataka

After a 23-year-old man was hacked to death on the outskirts of Mangaluru, days after a youth BJP worker was killed at Bellare in Dakshina Kannada, former Karnataka chief minister HD Kumaraswamy on Saturday condemned the spate of killings and said that the government has "destroyed" the state which is a "garden of peace".

After a 23-year-old man was hacked to death on the outskirts of Mangaluru, days after a youth BJP worker was killed at Bellare in Dakshina Kannada, former Karnataka chief minister HD Kumaraswamy on Saturday condemned the spate of killings and said that the government has "destroyed" the state which is a "garden of peace".

File photo.  (AP)

In a series of tweets referred to Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, the former chief minister said, "An incompetent, helpless @BJP4Karnataka government that is unable to protect not only the people of the country but also its workers, the Praveen Nettaru murder case has been handed over to the NIA for investigation. However, the NIA is reluctant to investigate all the killings on the coast! Why?"

"The government has information about every murder along the coast. It is also known that those murders are happening. However, the 'double engine government' is playing a double game. The @bjp party which claims to be the biggest political party in the world is too weak to guarantee the lives of the youth who brought it to power," he added.

Kumaraswamy further questioned Bommai if he took any action for "peace of mind".

"What was the message given to the people in Mangalore by the brave Chief Minister @BSBommai who handed over Praveen's murder case to NIA investigation? Did the words "keep the peace" come to their tongues at least once? Didn't come!! Did you take action for peace of mind? Not even that. They added more ghee to the violence," he tweeted.

Hitting out at the Chief Minister for handing over the case to NIA for investigation, Kumaraswamy said that he "does not trust" the police system.

"How many cases investigated by NIA have a logical conclusion? There is none. What was the message given by the Chief Minister to the state police who were proceeding with the investigation after handing over to NIA? He who was the home minister himself, after becoming the CM, he does not trust the police system under him!! Isn't this ironic," he tweeted.

"Are there no efficient police officers in the state? If loyal and honest officers are given free rein, they can root out coastal violence. @BJP4Karnataka Government does not want it. The drama of entrusting the NIA without trusting the competent authorities is going to build a 'tomb' for the investigation of the massacres," he added.

Calling the state "garden of peace for all races", the JDS leader said that the Chief Minister has "destroyed" it.

"Karnataka is a garden of peace for all races. You have destroyed it. Your empire, which is built under the head of the poisonous snake called violence, will surely fall prey to violence. The outrage of the same activists will write the epic poem for the pleasure of power on the heads of the activists. Coastal upset, Karnataka to be upset," he tweeted.