Shameful that Nadda is politicising Belagavi case: Siddaramaiah

Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah on Friday slammed BJP national president JP Nadda for politicising the horrifying incident in which a mother was paraded naked on the streets in Belagavi city of the state.

Speaking in the state assembly, he said under BJP rule, Karnataka witnessed multiple instances of violence against women, but Nadda has forgotten all of them. “Unfortunately, Nadda is using the Belagavi incident for politics,” the chief minister said, adding that the Belagavi incident is highly condemnable. “It is shameful that BJP President Nadda is politising such an incident for political gains,” he said.

Siddaramaiah said as soon as the Belagavi incident came to light, Karnataka home minister G Parameshwara and minister of women and child welfare Laxmi Hebbalkar visited the survivor's home not only to console her but also to provide compensation.

“The police have apprehended the culprits within 24 hours and put them behind bars. I am personally overseeing the investigation. Our government is committed to ensuring that such inhumane acts do not occur by meting out strict punishment to the guilty,” the CM said.

He added that the state BJP leaders are also satisfied with the measures taken by the state government. “However, Nadda has now made sudden remarks and his attempt to stir up this case four days after the incident indicate a political motive rather than genuine concern for the victim,” the chief minister said.

He claimed that if Nadda had genuinely cared for women, he would have taken action against the previous BJP government for failing to protect women, and said as per the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), there were 17,813 cases of violence against women in Karnataka during the last year (2022) of BJP rule, compared to 14,468 cases the previous year in 2021.

“What was the BJP president doing then? Was he in exile? Did he not notice the increasing cases of violence against women under their own government year after year?” the CM questioned.

He added that from Manipur to Gujarat, from Uttar Pradesh to Madhya Pradesh, wherever the BJP is in power, cases of violence against women are increasing, as reported by the NCRB. “These cases prove that the BJP is inherently anti-woman,” the chief minister said.

He said the internal disputes within the state BJP are escalating while denting the party’s reputation. “Senior BJP leaders are making serious allegations against the party president and Opposition leaders. If Nadda has the courage and power, he should send an investigating committee to look into these allegations,” Siddaramaiah said.

On 10 December, a 42-year-old woman resident of Vantamuri village was dragged out of her home by family members of a girl with whom her son had allegedly eloped. She was stripped naked, paraded, and finally tied to an electric pole and assaulted.

Karnataka home minister Parameshwara rushed to visit the victim at Belagavi District Hospital to inquire about her health and gather details about the incident from her. He later visited her house in Vantamuri village as well.

A Karnataka High Court bench headed by chief justice PB Varale and justice Krishna S. Dixit said on 14 December: "What will be the fear among other women? They will feel unsafe. It did not even happen in Mahabharata. Draupadi had Lord Krishna who came up to help her, but in the modern world, no one came to help her. Unfortunately, this is a world of Duryodhanas and Dushasanas."