After pictures of BJP leaders from Karnataka sharing a stage with history sheeter ‘Silent’ Sunil sparked outrage, BJP state president Nalin Kumar Kateel, in a bid to salvage the situation, has issued a statement saying there is no possibility of Sunil joining the BJP. Several prominent BJP leaders including Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha national president Tejasvi Surya were seen on the same stage as Sunil at a blood donation camp on Sunday, November 27, in Bengaluru. Sunil had been declared absconding by the Central Crime Branch police in Bengaluru.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai hit back at the Opposition while answering the Congress party’s questions on the matter. Defending the leaders of his party who were seen with Sunil, Bommai asked Congress leaders to first count the number of history sheeters in their own party.
In a press statement, Kateel said that he has asked the leaders present on stage to issue a clarification on why they were with a history sheeter, besides issuing a warning that such incidents should not be repeated. Stating that there is no place for people with extremist and criminal backgrounds in the BJP, Kateel said that he has asked for any such incident to be brought to his attention immediately in the future.
‘Silent’ Sunil, who originally hails from Kerala, has been booked in several cases including for murder and abduction in many police stations across Bengaluru. He was first listed as a history sheeter in the Subramanyapura Police Station and then in the High Grounds Police Station in central Bengaluru. He was booked in a murder case in 2017 in Yelhanka, and also faces charges including theft, extortion, kidnapping and Karnataka Control of Organised Crimes Act, 2000 (KCOCA).
Accusing the ruling BJP of having links with criminals, the Congress had asked Home Minister Araga Jnanendra if he had prevented the police from taking action. Jnanendra, meanwhile, said that there was no pending warrant against Sunil, nor is the person needed for inquiry in connection with any case, which was why he was not picked up from the venue after the event.