Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya said on Wednesday that he stood by his earlier statement that the capital city was turning into a terror hub.
“Bengaluru has given me education, put food on my table and given me my identity, just like my party has given me recognition and made me an MP. Yet, I stand by my statement that Bengaluru is turning into a terror hub,” Surya said, responding to criticism by opposition leaders, who had accused him of tarnishing the image of the city.
"Bengaluru needs a permanent office of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) for its security. The NIA's presence in the city will ruin the 'match-fixing' between the Congress and the SDPI. That is the reason why the Congress is making such statements," charged Surya, who was appointed the national president of the BJP's Yuva Morcha recently.
Referring to the recent violence in DJ Halli and KG Halli, Surya said, "My blood boils on thinking that a police station was vandalised. The Congress party is guilty of abetting the goondas of the Popular Front of India and hence owes an apology to the people of Bengaluru."
"The Congress, which failed to protect its MLA Akhanda Srinivas Murthy, who represents a reserved constituency, and the JD(S) leaders, who never bothered to visit the house of the aggrieved MLA, are today criticising me," said Surya.
Three days back, Surya had remarked that Bengaluru had become an "epicentre of terror activities" and that the recent arrests by the NIA had proven it. His remarks drew flak from the opposition leaders.
“On August 11, there was an incident of violence in Bengaluru where police stations were attacked. An NIA investigation into it resulted in the arrest of a few key conspirators. It was found that the protest was not spontaneous but a conspiracy. I urged the Union Home Minister to set up a permanent division of the NIA so that anti-India activities that want to use Bengaluru as an incubator of terror activities can be curtailed," Surya had said, adding that many terror modules and sleeper cells had been busted in Bengaluru.
JD(S) leader and former chief minister H.D. Kumaraswamy had demanded an apology from Surya for his remarks. "Bengaluru is our pride and making such derogatory statements about the city for the sake of polarisation of votes is a crime. The city built by Kempegowda is growing at a faster pace compared to all other cities in the country. Such statements smack of a political conspiracy of the North Indian lobby. Some people who had links with terrorists were caught following the DJ Halli incident. But you cannot badmouth a city that is providing food and shelter to crores of people," he had said.
KPCC chief D.K. Shivakumar alleged that Surya had shamed the city and the state. "Bengaluru is a global IT and educational hub and has produced engineers and doctors, and not terrorists. The city accounts for 34 per cent of all IT exports in the country. If you make such loose statements, which investor will come forward to invest in the state? This is an insult to all Kannadigas. Tejasvi Surya should apologise for his remark," Shivakumar had said.
