Siddaramaiah flays BJP for politicising Belagavi woman stripping incident

Dharwad: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday slammed BJP and the party's national president JP Nadda for attempting to derive political mileage from the Belagavi incident wherein a woman was stripped, paraded and thrashed after her son eloped with a girl from the same community and termed it 'shameful'.

Talking to reporters at Hubballi airport, Siddaramaiah condemned the heinous violence. The Chief Minister stated that the government had acted in accordance with legal procedures.

"The home minister had visited the victim in the hospital immediately after the incident and the accused were arrested. However, the BJP chief is politicising the issue. The BJP leadership should check the data from the National Crime Bureau to understand incidents of atrocities on women during the BJP rule in the state," he stated.

Siddaramaiah also drew attention to a BJP MLA in Uttar Pradesh convicted for raping a minor.

"What does Nadda have to say about this?" he asked.

"The accused in Belagavi incident must get maximum punishment and such incidents should not occur in a civilized society, regardless of the government in power," he added.