Karnataka Congress president DK Shivakumar has said the party will not remove members who have been named in the Bengaluru riots chargesheet as ‘accused’. Referring to them as ‘innocent’, the Congress leader accused the BS Yediyurappa-led BJP government of plotting a political conspiracy against his party and its leaders.

‘Bengaluru Police was working as an agent of the ruling party,’ DK Shivakumar claimed.

The Central Crime Branch has named Congress corporators AR Zakir and former Mayor Sampath Raj in the Bengaluru riots chargesheet.

‘It is a conspiracy by the BJP-led state government. They are naming our corporators to cover their failure. We do not accept this and will fight it legally,’ Shivakumar said.

In response to the remarks made by the Congress president, BJP leader and MP Shobha Karandlaje accused him of ‘safeguarding anti-social minds like Sampath Raj, betraying their own Dalit MLA.’

‘AR Zakir and Sampath Raj instigated public for their political ambitions, the result was Bengaluru Riots. But Congress president DK Shivakumar safeguarding anti-social minds like Sampath Raj, betraying their own Dalit MLA. This shows their priority towards society & Dalits!,’ she tweeted.

‘Congress did this appeasement for 7 long decades and so they are at the verge of extinction,’ Karandlaje said, lashing out at the Congress.

Karnataka Deputy CM C N Ashwathnarayan also reacted and said that if the state Congress chief wants to protect his followers then he should have advised them to become better citizens and not incite violence against their own colleague.

An FIR was registered on the complaint of Congress MLA Akhanda Srinivas Murthy at DJ Halli Police station three days after the violence broke out in Bengaluru over an alleged objectionable social media post by his nephew P Naveen.

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