Bengaluru, April 29 (IANS) The arrest of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) workers is a disgraceful misuse of power — a calculated attempt to crush nationalist voices and intimidate the youth of this state, said senior BJP leader and Karnataka Assembly Leader of Opposition R. Ashoka.

Ashoka, in a statement on Wednesday, said, “Let there be no doubt – the BJP Karnataka unit will confront this head-on. We will not allow Karnataka to be turned into a safe haven for divisive forces while patriots are put behind bars.”

“The Congress government in Karnataka has crossed every limit of appeasement and is now openly choosing the wrong side,” Ashoka criticised.

“When individuals like Umar Khalid, facing serious charges under UAPA, are given space and indirect legitimacy, while BJYM Karnataka karyakartas are arrested for protesting – this is not hypocrisy anymore, it is complicity,” he said.

“Let this sink in: Speak for the nation, and you will be targeted. Question divisive narratives, and you will be silenced,” Ashoka charged.

But if it suits the Congress vote-bank, even the most controversial figures will find protection, he taunted the ruling party in the state.

He said that this was not governance. “This is a dangerous distortion of democracy where appeasement is policy and suppression is strategy,” he alleged.

“Congress must answer: Is Karnataka now a state where patriotism is punished, and provocation is protected?” Ashoka questioned and added that the people of Karnataka are watching, and they will deliver a fitting answer.

It can be recalled that the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) members held a protest near the Bangalore International Centre in Domlur locality on Tuesday, opposing the Karnataka government’s permission for the release of a book on JNU activist Umar Khalid, who is currently lodged in the Tihar Jail under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) in connection with the 2020 Delhi riots case.

The police had detained the protesters and later arrested them.

The protesters had raised slogans against the Congress-led state government and displayed posters stating their opposition to “Urban Naxals” who, they alleged, support terrorists.

It can also be noted that a memorandum was submitted on Monday to the Bengaluru Police Commissioner Seemanth Kumar Singh seeking denial of permission for the event.

–IANS

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