Once again, the Opposition Congress is set to take on the government as it on Tuesday petitioned Chief Secretary P. Ravi Kumar seeking not just filing of FIRs against BJP leaders who violated COVID-19 norms, but also demanding disciplinary action against officials who desisted from acting against the BJP leaders.
KPCC president D.K. Shivakumar on Tuesday said the State BJP leaders in several districts had organised public events in violation of COVID-19 curbs and urged the State Government to register FIR against such leaders.
In a detailed petition to the Chief Secretary, Mr. Shivakumar also demanded disciplinary action against officials of the district administration and the police for showing laxity in discharge of their duties and not filing cases against BJP leaders for violation of COVID-19 restrictions imposed by the Government across the State. He criticised the State Government for booking cases against him and other Congress leaders, including Siddaramaiah and M. Mallikarjun Kharge, for holding the march seeking implementation of the Mekedatu project in violation of COVID-19 curbs and blaming projecting them for spread of the pandemic in the State.
Mr. Shivakumar attached photographs published in newspapers in the petition and said Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, presiding officers of both the Houses of the State legislature and several leaders participated in an oath-taking ceremony of MLCs at the Vidhana Soudha on January 6 in violation of COVID-19 norms.
Similarly, Home Minister Araga Jnanendra, Aland BJP MLA Subhash Guttedar, Honnali MLA M.P. Renukacharya, Minister B. Sriramulu, BJP leader G. Janardhana Reddy, Belagavai north MLA Anil Benake, Jagalur MLA S.V. Ramachandra, Bengaluru City BJP president N.R. Ramesh, Yelahanka MLA S.R. Vishwanath, and Belthangady MLA Harish Poonja participated in several religious and public functions by violating COVID-19 curbs imposed by the Government, the petition said.
The Congress leader urged the Government to book cases against all these BJP MLAs and party workers who participated in different functions in different districts. The BJP leaders conducted events without wearing masks and bypassing social distance norms, he alleged.
KPCC working president and MLC Saleem Ahmed, leaders V.S. Ugrappa and B.L. Shankar submitted the petition to the Chief Secretary.
Sources in the Congress said Mr. Shivakumar and his party leaders will hold a protest in front of the residence of the Chief Minister here if the Government failed to book cases against the BJP Ministers and leaders.
