Mangaluru : Leader of Opposition in Legislative Assembly R. Ashok accused the Congress of running a ‘Taliban-type’ government in Karnataka.

On June 12, he addressed mediapersons after visiting the two BJP workers who are under treatment in the K. S. Hegde Hospital in Mangaluru after being stabbed at Boliyar, on June 9 night. The workers had been stabbed by a group while they are returning after celebrating the swearing-in of the NDA government.

Alleging that law and order in the State has completely collapsed, Mr. Ashok claimed that the attack on the BJP workers was pre-planned. It was an attempt to murder, he claimed.

Mr. Ashok said that the workers have been attacked for shouting ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ in front of a masjid. He questioned how the attackers could possess daggers if the attack was not pre-planned.

“If the attack was spontaneous, the attackers could have used some random sticks or could have assaulted by hand. But the attackers had daggers, which means it was a pre-planned attack,” he alleged.

Mr. Ashok said that police have filed a counter case against BJP workers only to weaken the main case of stabbing.

BJP MLAs will raise the stabbing incident in the coming session of the Legislative Assembly, he said. He demanded that the State Government bear the cost of treatment of the BJP workers.

The Leader of Opposition alleged that the Congress mindset is to support ‘Taliban-type’ activities.

“Goondas have festive time during the Congress rule,” he alleged.

The opposition leader claimed that crime rate in Karnataka has gone up by 40% after the Congress government took over in May 2023. “It appears that there is a Home Minister for every district,” he said.

He was accompanied by Dakshina Kannada Member of Parliament Captain Brijesh Chowta, MLAs Y. Bharat Shetty, D. Vedavyasa Kamath, Harish Poonja, U. Rajesh Naik, MLC Prathapsimha Nayak, and Dakshina Kannada BJP unit president Satish Kumpala.