Parameshwara defends move on Hubballi riots, says UP CM too withdrew cases against him

The Karnataka Home Minister was reacting to the BJP staging a protest against the government's move to withdraw criminal cases registered against a mob which had attacked policemen.

Bengaluru: Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara on Monday defended the government's decision to withdraw cases pertaining to the 2022 Hubballi riots and claimed that even Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had dropped ones against him.

He was reacting to the BJP staging a protest at Freedom Park here against the government's October 10 move to withdraw criminal cases registered against a mob which had attacked policemen with stones on April 16, 2022 in Hubballi town in north Karnataka.

This is one of the 43 cases the state Cabinet decided to withdraw at its meeting on Thursday following a petition by the Anjuman-e-Islam to Parameshwara, official sources said.

“After approving the proposal to withdraw the case, we have to inform the court. If the court accepts the proposal then the case will be withdrawn. If it doesn’t then the case won’t be withdrawn. We have to follow all the procedures cautiously. We cannot withdraw on our own just because someone said it,” Parameshwara told reporters here.

He claimed that BJP leaders too had withdrawn cases when they were in power in Karnataka and other states. “The Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister (Adityanath) had cases against him. He withdrew cases against him holding the Chief Minister’s post. So many cases were withdrawn,” the Minister said. “Whom are you accusing when the system is like that? We have done it within the framework of the system,” Parameshwara said, slamming the BJP.

He said there were about 60 proposals and the government withdrew 43 cases. “Are there only minorities in those cases? All are there – farmers, students, and ordinary citizens who took part in various agitations. If all the 43 cases were against the minorities then I agree with them. We cannot do that. We have to see everyone with equal footing,” Parameshwara explained.

When asked about the proposal to withdraw cases pertaining to the DJ Halli and KG Halli rioting in 2020, the Minister said the government will examine them as well after following the due procedure. “I am not the only one to decide. The Chief Minister and Home Minister alone cannot do it. There are so many brains working behind it,” Parameshwara said.

At the protest site, BJP State President B Y Vijayendra, Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R Ashoka, former Deputy Chief Minister C N Ashwath Narayan and other party leaders condemned the government's move terming it "appeasement politics."

They accused the government of withdrawing cases against individuals charged with rioting and violence. "Attempted murder and inciting riots are not trivial offenses, yet Congress prioritises vote-bank politics over justice," Vijayendra said. By encouraging wrong-doers, the Congress government is emboldening anti-social elements and undermining public safety.