Kar Sevak row: Arrest is a law & order issue, not vendetta politics: Shivakumar

Bengaluru, Jan 3 (IANS) Karnataka’s Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Wednesday said that the arrest of an alleged Kar Sevak in Hubballi was a law and order issue and not vendetta politics.

Replying to reporters’ query on the arrest at his Sadashivanagar residence he said, “We are not doing vendetta politics, but we are doing the job of maintaining law and order. We are a peace-loving state and there is no place for anti-social activities.”

“The BJP is trying to politicise this. The Home Minister has already clarified that the government is only trying to clear pending cases. Necessary action will be taken against those who have violated the law and brought disrespect to the state,” he noted.

“The BJP could not elect the Leader of the Opposition for seven months. Now that the general elections are coming closer, they are raising these issues to show that they are politically alive. In a democracy, people will give an answer to their actions. We are not filing false cases against party workers of other parties like them. Check the number of cases the BJP has filed against Congress party workers in Bengaluru and Hubballi during their tenure. We haven’t done anything like that and we won’t do it in the future,” he added.

Asked about the Opposition leaders’ plan to gherao the police station in Hubballi, Shivakumar said, “Let them do it. They saffronised the khaki uniform of the state police when they were in power, we won’t do such things.”

Replying to a reporter’s observation on Lokayukta resuming its investigation against him, he said, “I haven’t received any notice regarding this. I will comment when I receive a notice.”