Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah accuses BJP of "politicising" arrest of kar sevak in Hubballi

"Don't we need to punish those who have done wrong? Are they (BJP) protesting saying that they shouldn't be punished?" Siddaramaiah asked while speaking to reporters at his Home Office Krishna here.

The kar sevak, Srikanth Poojari, was arrested recently for his alleged involvement in violence after the Babri masjid demolition in 1992. The arrest was made in a long pending case and the police said that it was a routine process to trace accused persons in such cases.

However, the Opposition BJP protested over the arrest across the state and accused the state government of arresting workers of Hindutva organisations at a time when the Ram temple in Ayodhya is being inaugurated.

"You should ask them what is their intention behind protesting now. They (BJP leaders) are only doing politics. We only take action against those who commit crimes," Siddaramaiah said.

Meanwhile, R Ashoka, Leader of the Opposition in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly, on Wednesday, slammed the Siddaramaiah government for the arrest, saying that the situation in the state is such that one is sent to jail for chanting 'Jai Sri Ram'.

"If you chant 'Jai Sri Ram' in Karnataka, you will be sent to jail. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government is at the Centre, so we are not afraid of all these," Ashoka said during BJP's protest march in Hubballi against the arrest.

Karnataka LoP also accused the Congress of having opposed the building of Ram temple in Ayodhya. He said that there were 69,000 pending cases in the state, hinting at the arrest of the kar sevak as politically motivated.

"Srikanth Poojari was arrested on the day when the court was on vacation for three days. He is a very poor auto driver. It is not right to arrest such a poor man," Ashoka said.

He demanded the suspension of the police officers who ordered the arrest of the kar sevak. (ANI)