Karnataka Election: BJP asks Congress if it has 'behind-the-scenes agreement with SDPI'

As the Karnataka Assembly election date nears, the political fight in the state has intensified with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday seeking clarification from Congress regarding its alleged relationship with the banned organisation Popular Front of India (PFI) and its political wing SDPI.

BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi said. "The statement of SDPI leader Abdul Majeed that the Congress is pressurising him to withdraw his candidate from the election shows that he has some understanding and if it was just an isolated statement, SDPI's Mohammad Ilyas, the general secretary of the Congress, has also said that there was a coalition in 2018, which means it was very clear that the alliance was there in 2018 as well as in 2023," he said.

Citing a media report, Trivedi said that many members of PFI are working with SDPI and asked if Congress has a "behind-the-scenes agreement with SDPI."

"While this is such a dangerous topic that PFI was not officially banned then, today it is officially banned by law...We want to know from the Congress what is your behind-the-scenes agreement with SDPI, it should come before the country because it is a question of the country's security as well as Karnataka's security," he said.

The BJP leader also alleged that Karnataka Congress chief DK Shivakumar during the party's 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' said that the word "Hindu" is bad.

Bengaluru, Karnataka | During the so-called Congress' 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' the party's Karnataka state president said that the word “Hindus” is bad. I am asking Congress what is your relationship with SDPI and also your role behind PFI which has been banned by the government: BJP… pic.twitter.com/M2XUxV4TRZ

— ANI (@ANI)

"The previous Congress government in the state ignored Hampi Utsav and showed interest in Tipu Jayanti celebrations. In 2019, then-Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan also paid tribute to Tipu. The PFI and SDPI organisations encouraged the protests against the Citizenship Act. These same organisations had also created the Hijab controversy," he said.

The Assembly elections in Karnataka will take place on May 10. The counting of votes will take place on May 13.