Chittapur ‘confinement’ row: BJP trains guns on Priyank Kharge at ‘Kalaburagi Chalo’ rally-OxBig News Network

BJP leaders at the ‘Kalaburagi Chalo’ rally Kalaburagi on Saturday. | Photo Credit: ARUN KULKARNI

The State unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) launched an attack on Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister Priyank Kharge at its “Kalaburagi Chalo” rally on Saturday. The protest was organised to condemn the alleged wrongful confinement of the Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council Chalavadi Narayanaswamy recently in Chittapur by Congress party workers. The BJP leaders not only demanded a judicial probe into the incident but also called for Mr. Priyank’s immediate suspension from Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s Cabinet.

The rally saw participation of the party’s State president B.Y. Vijayendra, Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Assembly R. Ashok, Mr. Narayanaswamy, MLCs C.T. Ravi and N. Ravikumar, former Deputy Chief Minister Govind Karjol, and MLAs Basavaraj Mattimadu and Avinash Jadhav.

Mr. Vijayendra, addressing the gathering, alleged that Kalaburagi had devolved into a “goonda district” under the leadership of Mr. Priyank. He claimed that law and order in the district had deteriorated, with police stations seemingly converted into Congress offices.

“Mr. Priyank is misusing his powers to target BJP leaders. Mr. Narayanaswamy’s illegal confinement by the Congress workers was at the direct behest of Mr. Priyank. The incident appeared to be an act of retaliation against Mr. Narayanaswamy for exposing scams involving Mr. Priyank. Mr. Priyank can stoop to any low,” Mr. Vijayendra said.

Continuing the offensive, Mr. Ashok challenged Mr. Priyank, who was often seen carrying a copy of the Constitution, to clarify whether the document condones hooliganism and atrocities.

Mr. Narayanaswamy, recounting the events at the Chittapur guest house on Wednesday, asserted that it was an act of political vengeance for his role in exposing Mr. Priyank’s involvement in a land scam.

“Congress workers surrounded the guest house, confining me for five hours, and carried stones and eggs with the intent to assault him, all while the police remained mute spectators. It was a pre-planned conspiracy orchestrated by Mr. Priyank to erode his morale,” he alleged.

Asserting himself as a staunch Dalit, Mr. Narayanaswamy contrasted himself with AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge by stating that he was not born with a golden spoon in his mouth. He further alleged that Mr. Kharge actively worked to defeat Dalit leaders in the Kalyana Karnataka region, leveraging the Dalit card for his own benefit.

“Mr. Kharge fears parallel power centres emerging in the party,” Mr. Narayanaswamy said, warning that “more skeletons would tumble out of the closet” if Mr. Priyank dared to provoke or target him again.