Criminal always a criminal until acquitted: CM Siddaramaiah on arrest of kar sevaks of '92

Tha Babri Masjid mosque demolition case is back in news with the recent arrest of two Kar Sevaks in Karnataka who participated in the 1992 Ayodhya agitation. As BJP slammed Chief Minister Siddaramaiah over the arrests, his response was that a "criminal is a criminal until acquitted by the court of law".

Vijayapura (Karnataka): With the recent arrest of two BJP activists who had taken part in the Ayodhya agitation back in 1992 snowballing into a controversy, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said a criminal is always a criminal unless acquitted by a court of law.

Hitting out at Union Minister of Coal and Mines Pralhad Joshi for his jibe at the government, Siddaramaiah said Joshi does not know the law and is talking politically and not legally. "A criminal is always a criminal unless acquitted by the court. Does crime vanish with time? Does Pralhad Joshi know the law? Crime does not fade away with time. It remains as it is," Siddaramaiah told reporters.

He was reacting to a question on the recent arrest of two 'kar sevaks' who were allegedly involved in the commotion that ensued post Babri mosque demolition in 1992 in Hubballi. The BJP criticised the Congress government "for pursuing the politics of vendetta" against kar sevaks after 31 years of the incident. It warned the government that it will stage a vehement agitation if the kar sevaks are not released.

"Is Pralhad Joshi a legal expert or legal luminary? Is he a court? Can Pralhad Joshi's statement be accepted as a quote from the Vedas? He is talking politically and not legally. Government abides by the law, the chief minister said. He explained that the state Home Minister G Parameshwara had ordered police officials to pursue and dispose of old cases. So the police rounded up people involved in old cases. Police have only obeyed the home minister's direction, he added.

To a question on Joshi's allegation that the government has stooped low by arresting the accused in a 31-year-old case, Siddaramaiah attributed Joshi's remarks to his "low-level mentality, because he is supporting criminals". When asked why the police did not act when the non-bailable warrant was issued, he sought to know what was wrong in arresting them now.'

"It's true that there was a delay in taking action but is there any rule that the arrests should not have happened?" the chief minister asked. "What should be done to those who do wrong? Should they be freed just like that? We have directed (the police) to dispose of old cases. Accordingly, the police have taken action. We do not pursue the politics of vendetta or arrest innocent people," Siddaramaiah said.

He clarified that the police action was based on the direction by the court. On the BJP's demand that the state government announce a holiday on January 22, when the Lord Rama idol will be installed in the newly built Ayodhya temple, Siddaramaiah said let the Centre do it since it is organising the event.

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