BJP to reject advice of riot-probe commission

BJP leaders in Karnataka say they will fight some recommendations of a commission that probed the 2008 anti-Christian violence in the state.
“We will fight tooth and nail the Ranghanath Mishra Commission report, that has recommended extension of benefits of reservation even for those who have converted into Christianity,” state minister for housing, Katta Subrahmanya Naidu.
Such a move would deprive the “backward class (Hindus) of their legitimate due,” he said while addressing a meeting that Karnataka Backward Classes Forum organized at Hubli on May 13.
BJP state president, K S Eshwarappa, at the meeting said BJP is not against Muslims or Christians, daijiworld.com reported.
However, “We are against those who earn their bread and butter here and then raise slogans in favour of Pakistan,” he added.
He warned that his party will launch a nation-wide agitation, if the central government does not reject the report of Ranganath Mishra Commission.
He claimed the BJP government had allotted 175 crore rupees for minority development while previous governments allocated only 25 crore for the purpose.
A final report on the Karnataka attacks is expected within the next three months.
In an interim report in February, the Commission accused top police officers and district administration for colluding with right-wing Hindu organizations during the violence on Christians.
Justice Somasekhara, a former High Court judge, suggested Karnataka’s BJP government to publicly state its commitment to protect all religions.
The state-government instituted commission probes the sequence of events and circumstances leading to attack on churches during the month of September 2008 in Dakshina Kannada and other districts of Karnataka.