The ruling BJP on Wednesday strongly defended the police firing in Mangaluru during the anti-CAA protests as well as the recent sedition cases that were booked, amid outrage from the Opposition.
Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai told the Legislative Assembly that the government will not order a judicial inquiry, as demanded by the Opposition, into the December 19 police firing in Mangaluru during anti-CAA protests that killed two people.
A furore erupted in the Assembly as the BJP locked horns with the Congress on the police action.
“In no way can the police action (in Mangaluru) be termed as excess. It was in compliance with the legal procedure, after 106 tear gas shells, 47 rubber bullets and 66 shots were fired in air. The police tried to control the situation before opening fire,” Bommai said during his reply on a debate on the law & order situation in the state. “The protesters did not pay heed to goodwill gestures by the police.”
The government has ordered a magisterial inquiry whose interim report has already been submitted, besides the ongoing CID probe. “There is no question of judicial inquiry on top of this,” Bommai said.
Even with regard to the recent sedition cases, Bommai said everything was done according to procedure. “The Opposition parties have been attacking us for curbing free speech. There have been 736 protests in the past three months in connection with the Citizenship Amendment Act. In Bengaluru alone, protests have taken place in over 20 places. We have not curbed protests anywhere,” he stressed.
Giving a blow-by-blow account of what transpired in Mangaluru, Bommai explained: “It was the protesters who first began throwing stones in front of the DC’s office. In spite of police warning, they did not stop. The crowd increased by afternoon. They attacked the Mangaluru North Police Station. Some were hitting CCTV cameras, some set buses on fire. They threw petrol bombs, one of which fell inside the police station,” he said.
Further, Bommai said several BJP leaders, including himself, received threat calls after the Mangaluru incident.
“Calls were made from Saudi Arabia and Dubai. Threats have implicated the chief minister also. This has international ramifications. It is not limited to our state,” the home minister added.
Not satisfied with Bommai’s response, the Congress staged a walkout saying the government had not addressed the sedition case against the Bidar school in which two women, including the mother of a 11-year-old and a teacher, were arrested over a play students staged on the CAA.
