Shivamogga: Former home minister and Thirthahalli MLA Araga Jnanendra Thursday condemned the cases registered against BJP leaders like CT Ravi, accusing the Congress govt of misusing the police department to target political opponents out of vendetta.He claimed an attempt had been made on MLC CT Ravi’s life during the Belagavi session and that it was natural for him to file a police complaint. However, the govt is now retaliating by slapping continuous cases on him.Jnanendra said that during the previous Congress administration in 2016-17, rowdy-sheets were opened against nearly 23,000 BJP and RSS workers. He warned that police officers acting under political pressure could face repercussions in the future.Asserting that BJP will not be intimidated and will fight all cases legally, he criticised the home department for “focusing on suppressing political opponents while daily crimes go unchecked”.Speaking to reporters, Jnanendra alleged that the ruling govt was neglecting administration. He added that after spending months on discussions over changing the chief minister, the Congress was now preoccupied with cabinet expansion.Senior BJP MLA V Sunil Kumar accused the state govt of reducing home department to a social media surveillance wing rather than maintaining law and order.He said that “while issues such as drug trafficking, youth crime and homicides were left unaddressed, the department was preoccupied with monitoring the speeches, Facebook posts and WhatsApp messages of BJP leaders and right-wing activists”.
