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Court serves summons to 17 BJP workers in 2017 case; BJP protests
The development has triggered allegations from the BJP, which said the Siddaramaiah government is reopening cases against BJP workers and individuals associated with pro-Hindu organisations
Bengaluru: A Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) court in Mandya district on Friday issued summons to 17 Bharatiya Janata Party workers in connection with a 2017 case related a bike rally held in violation of prohibition orders.
The BJP workers had carried out the bike rally from Pandavapura in Madhya to Mangaluru of Dakshina Kannada district, demanding that state government ban the Popular Front of India (PFI) and the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI). The police intervened and halted the protesters in Pandavapura town. They had registered an FIR and later submitted a charge sheet in the case to the court. The court had earlier issued summons but the BJP workers had failed to appear for the hearing. The present summons were issued to the BJP workers to appear before the court as they remained absent for the court proceedings, police said.
The development has triggered allegations from the opposition BJP, which said that the Siddaramaiah-led state Congress government is reopening cases against BJP workers and individuals associated with pro-Hindu organisations. The party questioned the delay in the summons and accused the state government of unfairly targeting its workers.
The police clarified that the court, not the police department, issued the summons. Pandavapura sub-inspector Vivekananda said, “The summons issued by the JMFC court, and not by the police department, relate to IPC sections 143 (unlawful assembly) and 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant).” He said that once the charge sheet related to the case was filed, their role was over.
N Ashok, Melukote constituency BJP president, alleged that the police are acting against BJP workers under pressure. “It seems that the police are acting against BJP workers, pressurized by invisible leaders. On December 22, 2017, the police detained us in Pandavapura while we were heading towards Mangaluru to protest against PFI and SDPI on motorcycles. They detained us in the morning at 7:30 am and released us at 3 pm. We never knew they had booked us; we came to know about the case only after receiving the summons,” he said.
“Normally, the case would close in at least three years, but serving a summons after six years seems like a conspiracy. The authorities should conduct a probe into why it was delayed to serve notices,” Ashok said.
In response, Mandya district Congress committee president CD Gangadhar accused the BJP of unnecessarily politicising the issue. He said, “The Congress has no role in the matter. As the BJP is focused on maligning the Congress for political gain, it is diverting attention from developmental works,” Gangadhar said. He asked the BJP workers to question the delay in court rather than politicizing the issue.
