After several ministers and party leaders urged the Yediyurappa administration to follow the UP government’s model, where notices have been issued to several protesters seeking recovery of the cost of damage to public property, the Karnataka government announced that it will ‘look into it.’

Revenue Minister R Ashoka on Thursday, December 26, said that his government will look at adopting Uttar Pradesh’s policy of recovering the cost of damage to public property from ‘rioters’.

“If protesters cause damage to public property, we will have to enact the legislation to seize the properties of those involved in such activities,” Ashoka said, advising people to refrain from violent protests.

Kannada & Culture and Tourism Minister C T Ravi also pitched for the ‘protesters to pay’ model. “If protesters damage public property, they should be held liable for the same. It doesn’t matter which movement or political party the protesters represent,” he said.

“If the government also decides to move against those who provoke such incidents, then damage to public property during protests can be curbed,” he added.

Udupi-Chikmagalur MP Shobha Karandlaje also urged the state government to follow the footsteps of Uttar Pradesh, saying it was an “effective method” to curb violent protests.

This move by the state government has come close on the heels of the U-turn it took on compensating the victims – Abdul Jaleel (45) and Nausheen (24) – of police firing in Mangaluru. After offering compensation to the lives lost, the state government later accused the deceased of arson.

Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, who had announced Rs 10 lakh compensation on December 22, withdrew it on 25th December, sparking outrage among the Opposition.

Also Read: Karnataka CM Withdraws Rs 10 Lakh Compensation To Families Of Protesters Killed In Mangaluru