Karnataka panchayat officer suspended for attending RSS event, BJP calls Congress 'anti-Hindu'

For the uninformed, RSS is the ideological parent of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's BJP.

Praveen Kumar KP, who is the Panchayat Development Officer from Sirwar Taluk in Raichur district, had participated at RSS' centenary event.

Praveen Kumar had participated in the RSS route march wearing the organisation's uniform and carrying a stick during the event, which was held in Lingsugur on October 12.

Following this, the officer was suspended by the Rural Development and Panchayat Raj (RDPR) Department for violation of civil service conduct rules that mandates political neutrality and discipline.

A departmental probe into the incident has been ordered.

The incident has prompted the BJP to accuse the Congress of driving an "anti-Hindu mindset" through the "misuse" of the "government machinery".

Calling the ruling party "anti-Hindu", BJP Karnataka chief Vijayendra Yediyurappa said, "This is nothing but a perverse and anti-Hindu mindset of the @INCKarnataka party, driven by malice. You have started misusing the government machinery, and we too know the strategy to bring it back on track. This vindictive suspension must be immediately revoked with an apology, or else an appropriate response will be given through constitutional means within the democratic system to counter this divisive politics.

"The Congress, infamous for imposing an emergency on the nation and strangulating the democratic system in the past, is now proceeding on the same path in Karnataka. History bears witness that if divisive politics and authoritarian tendencies are flaunted, the people of this country will reduce them to nothing, as evidenced by the pages of history."

The BJP and Congress have been at the loggerheads since the state government made it mandatory for all organisations to take permission to hold events in public spaces.

State minister Priyank Kharge had also given a call to ban the RSS, which led the organisation to take out a march in the Congress leader's Chittapur constituency on October 19.

With no permission been granted by the police, the flags and banners put up in the area have been removed ahead of the event.