MYSURU: Chief minister Basavaraj Bommai on Thursday said he has a sked the directorgeneral of police (DGP) to verify the authenticity of the video purportedly released by al-Qaida chief Ayman al-Zawahiri, in which he criticises Karnataka over the hijab row and praises Mandya student Bibi Muskan Khan.
Bommai told reporters in Mysuru that there is a continuous pl oy to tarnish the image of the state by raising sensitive issues designed to disrupt law and order. “As part of this, the al-Qaida video has surfaced in which the terrorist organisation chief has spoken about the hijab issue and Muskan.
I have directed the DGP to verify its authenticity and related aspects, ” he said. Taking a dig at opposition leader Siddaramaiah for linking Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) to the release of the video, the CM said: “There is no logic in the claim that the RSS is behind it. There is no proof. I’m perp lexed as to why Siddaramaiah gets jittery when al-Qaida is exposed. ”
Higher education minister CN Ashwath Narayan also hit out at Siddaramaiah stating that talking on such sensitive national security issues without any proof is wrong. “It is irresponsible to drag the RSS into the al-Qaida issue,” he said.
He also alleged that JD(S) and Congress are competing for Muslim votes. “Former chief ministers Siddaramaiah and HD Kumaraswamy are in a race to prove who is the r eal voice of the minorities and are making baseless allegations against the BJP to win their votes,” he added.
Me anwhile, Karnataka Pra- desh Congress Committee spokesman Priyank Kharge asked activists of Bajrang Dal and other Hindu outfits to stop using petrol and diesel imported from Islamic nations. “They can show their fealty to Hinduism by doing so,” he said.
