India News | Hubballi Murder: 'It Isn't Love Jihad...BJP Using This Issue for Politics', Says Chief Minister Siddaramaiah
Get latest articles and stories on India at LatestLY. The Chief Minister, while speaking to media here hit out at the BJP and accused the party of politicizing the murder incident for politics.
Mysuru (Karnataka) [India], April 20 (ANI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday said that the murder of Congress corporator's daughter Neha Hiremath in Hubballi is not a case of "love jihad" as alleged by the BJP.
The Chief Minister, while speaking to the media here, hit out at the BJP and accused the party of politicizing the murder for politics.
Condemning the incident, the CM said, "This is not a case of love jihad. I condemn the incident. We have arrested the culprit, the investigation is going on seriously and we will punish the culprit. We have taken care of law and order seriously to maintain peace and harmony. BJP is using this issue for politics, it is condemnable that a political party (BJP) is using the murder of a girl for political purposes."
Union Minister Pralhad Joshi, meanwhile claimed that the case is of 'love jihad' but the state government does not want to investigate the matter.
"He (deceased's father) is a corporator. For vote bank politics, suppressing and hushing up is their (Congress) policy. This is all happening due to that...There is a 'love jihad' but they do not want to investigate that. The father himself is saying that this is being hushed up," he said on Saturday.
The murder of Congress corporator's daughter Neha Hiremath in Hubballi has triggered a political slugfest in the state.
There have been protests in several parts of the state demanding capital punishment for Fayaz, who has been arrested in connection with the incident that occurred on April 18.
Neha (23), the daughter of Congress Councillor of Hubballi-Dharwad Municipal Corporation Niranjan Hiremath, was stabbed to death on the campus of BVB College on Thursday. The accused Fayaz Khondunaik, who fled the scene, was arrested by police subsequently.
Neha was a first-year MCA student and Fayaz was her former classmate. (ANI)
(The above story is verified and authored by ANI staff, ANI is South Asia's leading multimedia news agency with over 100 bureaus in India, South Asia and across the globe. ANI brings the latest news on Politics and Current Affairs in India & around the World, Sports, Health, Fitness, Entertainment, & News. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)