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Bengaluru riots: Congress leader seeks colleague’s suspension, Shivakumar denies
The Central Crime Branch of Bengaluru police, which is investigating the riots, had said in its interim chargesheet that riots was caused by internal rivalry in the Congress party.
Congress legislator Akhanda Srinivas Murthy, whose house was burnt by a rioting mob in Bengaluru in August, on Thursday publicly demanded the suspension of his party colleague and former Bengaluru Mayor Sampath Raj, who has been named by the police as a key instigator of the violence. However, the state unit chief DK Shivakumar said that no such action would be taken.
The Central Crime Branch of Bengaluru police, which is investigating the riots, had said in its interim chargesheet that riots was caused by internal rivalry in the Congress party and had named Sampath Raj, who is a sitting corporator, as well as Congress corporator Abdul Zakir apart from 58 others as some of the key players who instigated the violence.
The riots in DJ Halli and KG Halli allegedly started after Murthy’s estranged nephew responded to a social media post viewed as offensive to Muslims. In the violence that followed, three people were killed and more than a hundred injured in the DJ Halli and KG Halli police station limits on August 11 and 12.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA), which is also investigating the case, had questioned two Congress MLAs - Zameer Ahmed Khan and Rizwan Arshad - regarding the riots. DK Shivakumar said that the chargesheet by the Bengaluru police naming Congress corporators as key players was politically motivated and timed just ahead of the two bypolls scheduled in the state.
Accusing the police of acting as puppets of the ruling BJP, Shivakumar said that there was an effort to defame the Congress party. “No Congressman was involved (in the riots). We will fight this out both politically and legally.”
The ruling BJP has accused the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) and the Congress of being behind the riots. Responding to a question on whether any action would be taken with regard to Murthy’s demand for suspension of Sampat Raj, Shivakumar said, “No. That maybe his (Murthy’s) political agenda, we are not going to suspend anyone.” On whether the party would stand behind Murthy, a Dalit MLA, Shivakumar said that “the party would stand behind all Congressmen”.
Deputy CM Ashwath Narayan said this only showed the internecine strife within the Congress.
“Akhanda Srinivasa Murthy himself has said that his political rivals within the party were trying to finish him off. The police and NIA are investigating the matter and truth will eventually come out,” said Narayan.
