Bengaluru, Sep 16 (IANS) A political exchange has erupted in Karnataka over State Congress president B. K. Hariprasad’s description of student activist Umar Khalid as a “nationalist”, with BJP leader and Leader of Opposition in the Karnataka Legislative Council Chalavadi Narayanaswamy criticising the Congress leader’s remarks.
Reacting to Hariprasad’s statement, Narayanaswamy said, “…We must reflect on the fact that Congress stands alongside those who seek to divide India and break it into pieces, and BK Hariprasad stands with them as well. That is why he calls him a nationalist.”
The BJP leader’s remarks came after Hariprasad described Khalid as a “nationalist” on Tuesday, in response to opposition from the Akhila Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) to the screening of a documentary on the activist.
Hariprasad said, “Umar Khalid is a nationalist. The ABVP has no right to speak about Khalid.”
The screening, organised by the Law and Society Committee of the National Law School of India University (NLSIU), was scheduled for September 14 but was subsequently postponed. The ABVP, a student organisation affiliated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), had opposed the proposed screening.
Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge also responded to the controversy, questioning the basis for describing Khalid as “anti-national” and referring to the ongoing legal proceedings against him.
“…Who is telling that Umar Khalid is anti-national? Has the court told that? BJP is telling he is an anti-national…Why are they not bringing up the trial? It’s been so many years that he has been in jail, and there are apparently some charge sheets on him. Why is the trial not going on? Why are they so afraid to conduct the trial?..” Kharge said.
Samajwadi Party leader ST Hasan also defended Khalid, saying that he had, in his view, spoken about national integration and communal harmony.
“As far as we understand, Umar Khalid has always spoken about national integration. He has always talked about communal harmony and freedom from oppression. Now, who is the oppressor and who is the oppressed-everyone knows that today. We do not understand how he has become anti-national. It is also unfortunate that he has been in jail for six years, and his trial has not even begun yet. Who is stopping it? You know very well that…” Hasan said.
The exchange has brought differing political views on Khalid’s public characterisation and the legal proceedings against him into focus, with leaders from the BJP, Congress and Samajwadi Party offering contrasting views.
–IANS
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