Namaz at Bengaluru airport: BJP accuses Siddaramaiah govt of 'double standards'

A controversy has erupted in Karnataka after a video showing a group of people offering namaz on the premises of Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport went viral on social media. 

Expressing strong objections to the act, the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party asked whether Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and cabinet minister Priyank Kharge would approve of this.

According to reports, the individuals offered namaz at Terminal 2 were the relatives of passengers departing for Mecca. 

"How is this even allowed inside the T2 Terminal of Bengaluru International Airport?,” asked BJP spokesperson Vijay Prasad.

Sharing the video on X, Prasad questioned whether these individuals had obtained prior permission to offer namaz in a high-security airport zone.

He further accused the government of “double standards”, referring to the objections it had raised against the Path Sanchalan (route march) organised by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.

“Why is it that the government objects when the RSS conducts Patha Sanchalana after obtaining due permission from the concerned authorities, but turns a blind eye to such activities in a restricted public area? Does this not pose a serious security concern in such a sensitive zone?,” he asked.

It was IT minister Priyanka Kharge, son of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, who urged the government to impose a ban on all RSS activities in government institutions and public premises across the state.

In a letter to the chief minister in October, Kharge claimed that the RSS has been conducting its shakhas in government and government-aided schools, as well as on public grounds.

Following his request, the government issued a GO that required private organisations to obtain prior permission before conducting any activities on government-owned premises.

The Karnataka High Court, however, has placed an interim stay on the order after a public interest litigation was filed against it.