Congress Should Clarify Whether It Is Pro-Terrorist or Patriots, Says Karnataka CM Basavaraj Bommai Amid Row Over Mangaluru Cooker Blast Case

Bengaluru, December 16: Amid the row over the Mangaluru cooker bomb explosion case, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Friday attacked Congress saying the party should clarify whether it is pro-terrorists or patriots.

Bommai's remarks came a day after Karnataka Congress chief DK Shivakumar on Thursday alleged that the cooker bomb explosion in an autorickshaw in Mangaluru last month was declared a "terror activity" without any investigation and it might have been a "mistake".  Karnataka CM Basavraj Bommai Says 'State Government Will Give Importance to Development in Chamarajanagar'.

The Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president Shivakumar also accused the Karnataka DGP and ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government of "tarnishing" the image of the state at the global level.

Reacting to Shivakumar's statement on the Mangaluru cooker blast case, Bommai told reporters here on Friday, "It was not the job of patriots to make statements that will affect the morale of the police department and of the nation. People will decide if Congress leaders clarify it. When terrorists are caught along with evidence, questioning the ongoing investigation is like extending moral support to terrorist organisations." Karnataka CM Basavaraj Bommai Announces Special Training for Middle-Level Police Personnel on Lines of National Defence Academy.

He further said the pressure cooker exploded when a person was carrying the materials related to the bomb. It is clear that the accused had planned to carry out the explosion in Mangaluru City. The arrested person who had concealed his identity had been arrested in 2-3 cases. It is also clear that this terrorist had linked outside the country, said Chief Minister Bommai.

Bommai said it is not correct on the part of Karnataka Congress president Shivakumar to term the Mangaluru blast as an 'accident' and try to hush it up.

He said, "This has been the policy of the Congress. The practice of Congress leaders is to talk lightly about terrorist-related activities, extend support to terrorists and criticise when terrorists were hanged. This is an election tactic to appease them. It is an old trick to talk in such a manner anticipating the minority votes. People are now awake and such tricks will not work out."

On November 19, an explosion was reported in an auto-rickshaw in Mangaluru. Auto driver Purushotham, and the prime accused, identified as 24-year-old Mohammed Shariq, were on fire when shopkeepers and local residents rushed to their rescue soon after the blast.

On November 20, Karnataka Police identified the bomber as Karnataka's Thirthahalli-based Mohammed Shariq, a terror accused charged with links to the Islamic State (IS), who is on the run since September 2022.

The bomber had suffered nearly 40 per cent burns in the explosion.

A day after the explosion in Mangaluru, Karnataka Director General of Police Praveen Sood on said the mysterious blast was an "act of terror"

The case was later handed over to the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

Asked about Shivakumar's statement on voting through illegal means, the Karnataka CM said the order was issued to that company in 2017 by the then Congress government and Shivakumar must know about it.

"The Congress Party has the habit of casting votes through illegal means. The present BJP government has ordered a probe and the police have investigated and arrested a few persons. The probe will reveal from which area they have come for which all the constituencies. The Election Commission of India has adopted a new method wherein if any voter has EPIC in another constituency, the name of such voter is deleted from the electoral roll automatically through the photograph," he added.

Shivakumar on Thursday slammed the ruling BJP government over the alleged theft of voter data and said that this should be considered an "act of terror" and the accused in the case should be arrested under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

Earlier on November 16, Bengaluru's civic body, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) said in a press release that it had cancelled permissions granted to the Chilume Educational Cultural and Rural Development Trust to conduct house-to-house surveys to help create awareness about the Systematic Voters' Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) programme.

The NGO has been accused of collecting personal information from the public, under the guise of spreading awareness, by impersonating BBMP officials.

The Congress, after that, alleged that this was done in connivance with the ruling government of the state.

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