In a blistering critique, Karnataka BJP leader R. Ashoka targeted Congress leadership after a special NIA court convicted Mohammad Shariq, the prime accused in the December 2022 Mangaluru pressure cooker blast, handing him a 10-year jail term. Ashoka alleged that Congress indulges in blatant vote-bank politics, compromising national security for minority appeasement.
Firing salvos at D.K. Shivakumar, who holds dual roles as Deputy CM and state Congress chief, Ashoka called it unfortunate that ambitious politicians defend ‘anti-national’ figures just to climb the power ladder. He recalled Shivakumar’s past statements downplaying the blast as a BJP ploy to overshadow a Bengaluru data breach scandal, questioning premature terror tags without investigation.
The court ruling, Ashoka emphasized, validates the incident’s gravity, shattering Congress’s narrative. ‘Leaders who label terrorists as brothers for votes are a danger to Karnataka,’ he thundered, accusing the party of consistent soft-pedaling on security threats.
Back in 2022, the explosion in an auto-rickshaw sent shockwaves, with Congress leaders quick to politicize it. Today’s conviction reignites the debate, positioning BJP to expose what it calls Congress’s ‘real agenda’ – prioritizing electoral math over public safety.
With elections on the horizon, this clash highlights stark ideological differences. BJP urges voters to see through the ‘tushthikaran’ (appeasement) strategy, while Congress remains silent so far, leaving the opposition to dominate the narrative on this sensitive issue.
