Bengaluru, Feb 2 (DHNS): The death of BJP worker Santhosh on Wednesday night sparked a war of words between the BJP and the Congress.
Union Minister D V Sadananda Gowda, who was recently involved in a Twitter face-off with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, on Thursday ticked off Home Minister Ramalinga Reddy with five tweets.
Gowda addressed five questions to Siddaramaiah, KPCC president G Parameshwara, KPCC working president Dinesh Gundu Rao, and ministers K J George and Reddy, whom he termed "so called innocents".
He insinuated that the Congress government was behind Santhosh's murder, as the ruling party was seen recently making efforts to withdraw communal cases against minority community members.
D V Sadananda Gowda and Siddaramaiah
"What will you tell Santhosh's parents? Will you tell them he was killed by innocents?" he said. He charged that the failed law and order situation had resulted in the death of 23 "Hindu workers". "When will your appeasement politics end? When will the bloodshed of Hindu youths end. If you do not answer now, people will give you a fitting reply in the polls," one of his tweets read.
Reddy countered by attributing the deaths of several Hindu youths to the BJP.
He also announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh to the family members of Santhosh. He said Santhosh was killed due to personal animosity and there was no political angle to it.
He said BJP workers and leaders were directly involved in the deaths of Vijayapura's Danamma, Mudigere's Dhanyashri, Udupi's Praveen Pujary, Bantwal's Harish Pujary and others.
"People will decide whether they want to elect the BJP or the Congress. Stop daydreaming about coming to power. The Siddaramaiah-led Congress will be at the helm again. This government is capable of apprehending the murderers," he added.
He said BJP sometimes even makes the dead join the party.
On BJP leader R Ashoka's statement that Reddy was spreading lies, the home minister said, "Does he speak only truth? Is he a descendant of Satya Harishchandra. A DNA test should be performed on him."