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BJP, allied groups not linked to Gauri Lankesh murder: Gadkari slams Rahul Gandhi
Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi said ‘anyone who speaks out against the BJP-RSS gets killed’, a day after journalist and social activist Gauri Lankesh was shot dead outside her home in Bengaluru.
Union minister Nitin Gadkari said on Wednesday the BJP, or any organisation linked to the party, was not involved in the killing of journalist Gauri Lankesh.
Gadkari criticised Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi and termed the allegations by the opposition leader baseless.
“The Karnataka government should maintain law and order in their state and the Congress government must investigate this matter and book the culprits soon,” said Gadkari.
Senior Kannada journalist and social activist Gauri Lankesh, 55, was shot dead on Tuesday night by unidentified men outside her residence, police said. Lankesh, who was the editor of Gauri Lankesh Patrike, often wrote against Sangh organisations and communal violence in the country.
Earlier in the day, Gandhi said anybody who speaks against the ideology of the BJP-RSS is “pressured, beaten, attacked and even killed”.
News agency ANI reported the Congress vice president as saying that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was a “skilled Hindutva politician”.
“People say that the Prime Minister is quiet and Prime Minister has not said anything. The point is the entire ideology is to silence voices,” said Gandhi.
Gadkari defended Modi and said the Prime Minister could not react on everything.
“Law and order of Karnataka is the responsibility of the state government, under Congress. Holding the Prime Minister responsible for it is wrong,” he said.
“There should be a proper probe of the murder. The guilty should be brought to book. Government of India, BJP or any of our organisations are not linked to this murder,” Gadkari said.
“The president of one political party has reacted irresponsibly on this incident. The allegation is baseless and a lie. It is unfortunate and not good for the democracy,” he said.
On Wednesday Congress president Sonia Gandhi condemning the murder said it was a chilling reminder of the fact that intolerance and bigotry is raising its ugly head in the society.