Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru

Mangaluru, May 5: Dakshina Kannada MP Capt Brijesh Chowta has launched a scathing attack on the Congress government for its refusal to transfer the investigation of BJP worker Suhas Shetty’s murder to the National Investigation Agency (NIA), alleging a deliberate attempt to shield radical elements operating under the government's watch.

Speaking to reporters on Monday, May 5, Capt Chowta questioned the government’s motives: “What is the Congress afraid of? Why the hesitation to hand over the case to the NIA, especially when it is becoming increasingly clear that this is not a personal rivalry but a larger ideological attack?”

Capt Chowta said that the Congress government, from the Speaker to the Home Minister, seemed intent on downplaying the ideological nature of the murder from the very beginning. “Even before a proper investigation could begin, the Speaker tried to absolve individuals now named as accused. What explains this rush to deny and deflect?” he asked.

Chowta described Home Minister G Parameshwar as a “clean chit minister” and said the Congress had reduced itself to a “rowdysheeter party”. “If DK Shivakumar, who faces 19 criminal cases, is allowed to become deputy chief minister, will the Home Minister call him a rowdy sheeter too?” he asked, taking a direct jibe at the state leadership.

He pointed out that 58% of Congress candidates who contested the 2023 elections had criminal cases pending against them, adding that this was “proof enough” of the party’s moral decline.

Capt Chowta alleged a deep and dangerous nexus between the Congress, SDPI, and the banned PFI. “Despite the ban on PFI in 2022, investigations — including a 2023 India Today exposé — showed that PFI members had regrouped under the SDPI banner. SDPI leaders themselves admitted the PFI cadre is now SDPI’s backbone,” he said. “These elements have continued their operations through anonymity, remittances, and safe havens provided by Congress rule.”

Referring to the Praveen Nettaru case, Chowta pointed out that major arrests — such as that of Mustafa Paichar in Hassan, Kodaje Mohammed Sherif in Delhi airport, and Ateeq Ahmed — were all made by the NIA, not state police. “This clearly shows PFI-linked elements were thriving in Karnataka, even years after the Congress came to power,” he said.

He criticised the Congress party’s tactic of brushing off ideologically motivated crimes as “personal rivalry” to derail public perception. “The same people who fell over themselves to offer a clean chit to Fasil’s family are now branding Suhas Shetty a rowdy sheeter — a cruel attempt to erase the truth,” Chowta said.

Calling it a battle of “fundamentalism versus nationalism”, Chowta demanded that the case be handed over to the NIA immediately. “Justice for Suhas is justice for every Hindu Karyakarta who has sacrificed for Ma Bharati. This Congress government, with its shameless appeasement politics, is trying to derail Bharat’s progress,” he asserted.

Chowta reiterated that Karnataka and Dakshina Kannada deserve transparent and unbiased investigations. “We will not accept selective silence, scripted probes, and ideological cover-ups. The Congress must stop protecting extremists hiding behind political fronts like SDPI and PFI,” he said.