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The Karnataka Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday, July 13, held a “public awareness campaign” to identify “illegal Bangladeshis” living in Bengaluru’s Mahadevapura area.
The event was held at the Ramagondanahalli Government School grounds in Mahadevapura. Interestingly, the BJP leaders who participated in the event included several who are opposed to BJP state president BY Vijayendra, whose term is due to end. These included leaders such as former minister Aravind Limbavali and GM Siddeshwara.
As part of the campaign, five teams were formed who gathered data from the Mahadevapura Assembly constituency.
These teams were headed by local leaders including former mandal presidents such as Papanna, Manohar Reddy, BN Nataraj, NR Sridhar Reddy and Suresh Narayan.
Each team conducted surveys and gathered data from various parts of the Mahadevapura constituency, Arvind Limbavali said in a statement on X. Their findings were compiled into reports which were presented during the event.
Former Union Minister GM Siddeshwar released a video report on the teams’ visits to several neighborhoods where illegal Bangladeshi immigrants were reportedly residing.
In a post published on social media platform X on July 10, Aravind Limbavali had informed that they were organising a “public awareness campaign” against “infiltrated Bangladeshis” and claimed that illegal Bangladeshis were snatching jobs from locals. He also urged people to inform them if they knew of Bangladeshis in their neighbourhood.
Limbavali had previously posted a video of people living in makeshift huts in Bellandur and claimed that they were illegal Bangladeshis.
In 2020, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) illegally demolished nearly 100 huts. The area is presumed to house Bengali Muslims despite the fact that the residents also include people from Assam, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and even north Karnataka.