Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru (MS)

Bengaluru, Aug 16: Home minister Basavaraj Bommai gave clarification over matters related to coronavirus, floods and rioting in the state.

To the query on connecting the riots in Bengaluru to the upcoming BBMP elections, the minister said, "In certain constituencies of the state political competition is on. The recent rioting is proof of this. Certain parties are trying to implement the ideology of SDPI in order to control the local governing bodies.

Responding to the statement that whether the minister is referring to two Congress constituencies in Narasimharaj in Mysuru and one in Pulakeshinagar in Bengaluru on which the SDPI is trying to take control, the minister said, "The recent Bengaluru riots are proof for the same. Why I should speak on this?"

The minister responded to the query on the timeline required to confiscate the property of rioters and said, "We will follow the rules and protocol formed by the Supreme Court in this regard. Once the process is complete, the violators are identified and their property is confiscated. The government is thinking seriously about the implementation of the same. We would like to send a strong message through this action to those who vandalize public and private properties."

On the query of ministers’ statement to ban organizations, mainly PFI, the minister said, "Several state and central organizations are also thinking on these lines. Individuals belonging to these groups are changing their names and appearance in order to evade investigation. But our officers are in the field and no one can escape from their eyes."

When the scribes asked the minister whether it is possible to ban SDPI, which has already registered itself with the Election Commission as a political party, Bommai said, "What CM Yediyurappa said is correct. FIR and charge sheet are proof enough for this. There is nothing to respond in this case. We will get the go-ahead of the CM soon to ban this organization. Then CM will recommend the same to the union government."

To the shortage of police personnel during the rioting, the minister said, "Keeping in mind the density of population, state of the art equipment are being given to police. Technical experts have also given certain guidelines in this regard and action is being taken on this. Several posts are lying vacant in the police department. We have already recruited 6,000 people. We are going to fill 18,000 positions in the next three years."

To the query of issues faced by police due to coronavirus, the minister said, "Coronavirus pandemic has become a big hurdle for the police. Some have tested positive. More than 3,000 police personnel are placed under quarantine so far. Even if one police personnel tests positive, the whole police station is sealed. However, after some days, the police report to duty. Their morale is high."