BENGALURU: 64 people, including Karnataka Opposition Leader Siddaramaiah, former Chief Minister Kumaraswamy, and famus progressive litterateur K. Veerabhadrappa, have received death threats, messages which are doing rounds on social media.
The police department has taken note of the situation and is considering beefing up security.
"Death is lurking around you; be prepared to die," read the post, which went popular in Karnataka on social media. The miscreants that disseminated the message went under the moniker 'Sahishna Hindu' (tolerant Hindu).
"You have been on a destructive path. You are on the verge of dying. You must be prepared. Death might come to you in a variety of ways. Notify your family members and make funeral preparations " read the message.
H.D. Kumaraswamy, a former Chief Minister, has advised the administration not to take such threats lightly. He urged the ruling BJP to protect progressive thinker and writer K. Veerabhadrappa, as well as other writers who have spoken out against the government's silence on the state's "communal polarisation."
He said incidents like the shooting of activist and writer Prof M.M. Kalburgi should not happen again in the state. The state is concerned about the development. Following the hijab controversy and Muslim organisations' protests against the court's decision, Hindu organisations have called for a ban on Muslim merchants at temples, halal cut meat, Muslim sculptors' idols, mango dealers, and even drivers and transportation firms.
The opposition parties, the Congress and the JD(S), have accused the ruling BJP of the occurrences, alleging that it is assisting and abetting Hindu organisations in inciting societal strife.
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