Mangaluru (Karnataka), April 24: Accusing the ruling Congress in Karnataka of following the Kerala “model” in fuelling political violence, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday vowed to end the menace if the BJP came to power after the May 12 state assembly elections.
“It appears the Congress government in Karnataka is following the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government in Kerala in allegedly killing political workers of rival parties. We will put an end to it when we come to power,” said Singh at a campaign for the party’s candidates in the state’s coastal region.
The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is contesting from all the 224 assembly segments across the state in a bid to return to power after it lost to the Congress in the May 2013 elections following a split in it.
The BJP has been holding the Congress responsible for the death of its 24 cadres and workers of right-wing RSS in the state’s coastal region during its rule over the last five years.
“Many of our political workers were allegedly killed under the Congress rule. We will end the culture of political violence when we return to power in the state,” reiterated Singh at the party’s rallies at Karkala, Belthangady and Udupi in Dakshina Kannada district.
Alarmed over the deteriorating law and order situation in the state, the Home Minister asked the public who was responsible for a police officer’s death in the area and who humiliated former Mysuru Deputy Commissioner C. Shikha.
“The law and order situation is so bad in Karnataka that even its Lokayukta (anti-graft ombudsman) was stabbed in his office in Bengaluru, allegedly by a trader over a month ago,” lamented Singh. (IANS)