The BJP has warned that its activists would court mass arrest on Friday across Karnataka to protest recent remarks by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in which he allegedly said the BJP and RSS had terrorists in their ranks.
The BJP's Karnataka general secretary Shobha Karandlaje said the party's activists would launch protests in support of the RSS. The BJP has demanded apologies from Siddaramaiah and KPCC working president Dinesh Gundu Rao over the issue. The BJP has also threatened to file a defamation suit against Siddaramaiah.
On Thursday, Siddaramaiah appeared to soften his stance on the controversy, claiming that he was referring to Hindutva terror when speaking of terrorists.
The controversy points to the heightened rhetoric in the state, which is due to go to elections in the coming months. Earlier this week, BJP president Amit Shah termed the Karnataka government as being 'anti-Hindu' for allegedly being soft on Islamic extremist groups.
Prior to that, Siddaramaiah and his Uttar Pradesh counterpart, Yogi Adityanath, engaged in a war of words on Twitter. The BJP is attempting to consolidate the 'Hindu' vote to counter Siddaramaiah's strategy of engaging distinct caste and ethnic groups such as the Lingayats.
