Appeasement policy of Congress led to spread of terrorism, alleges Kateel

Mangaluru: BJP state president Nalin Kumar Kateel said terrorism flourished in the country due to the appeasement policy of Congress. He was speaking to reporters after handing over an autorickshaw and Rs 5 lakh to auto driver Purushotham Poojary, who suffered burn injuries after the cooker blast of November 19, on Sunday. He said after Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power, terrorism activities have reduced. However, terrorist activities continued sporadically and the central government banned the PFI. Earlier, SIMI was also banned in the country for terror links, he said. He said the cooker blast was part of a conspiracy to convert India into an Islamic country, which has been mentioned by the NIA in its report. "I doubt whether Congress has supported terror activities. KPCC President DK Shivakumar has claimed that the accused in the Mangaluru blast is innocent. The NIA itself had stated that the Mangaluru blast was an act of terror. What do DKS and Siddaramaiah have to say in this regard? Did Congress suspend the Udupi unit general secretary after his son was arrested in connection with a terror link? It is clear that terrorists are in Congress. The Congress has been engaged in vote bank politics all these years and this has resulted in the spread of terrorism to every nook and corner of the country. Now, stringent action is being taken against it by the Modi government," he said. To a query on KPCC President Shivakumar's call for Karnataka bandh on March 9 against corruption in the BJP government, Kateel said that the fight against corruption should start from the Congress office itself. "There is a need to lock the Congress office. DK Shivakumar should clarify why their leaders are on bail," he said. Purushotham Poojary's wife Chitrakshi thanked MLA D Vedavyasa Kamath for handing over the autorickshaw and the BJP for handing over Rs 5 lakh to the family.