BJP delegation meets Karnataka Guv; asks him not to sign Hate Speech Bill

Bengaluru: A Karnataka BJP delegation led by Leaders of the Opposition R. Ashoka and Chalavadi Narayanaswamy met Governor Thawarchand Gehlot on Monday and urged him not to grant assent to the Karnataka Hate Speech and Hate Crimes (Prevention) Bill, 2025, sent to him by the Congress-led government.

Speaking to reporters after submitting the memorandum, R. Ashoka claimed, “We met the Governor and conveyed that Karnataka has been turned into a goonda state. There is no one to question anything, and jungle raj prevails. As the first citizen of the state, all orders are being carried out in your name. In this backdrop, we have requested the Governor to save the state.”

Referring to the proposed Hate Speech law, Ashoka said the primary function of the Karnataka Legislature is to deliberate and make laws, but the Speaker and the Chief Minister did not allow a proper discussion under some pretext.

Ashoka alleged that the Congress was following the same “conspiracy” adopted during the Emergency under late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1974. “The same conspiracy is being played out today under the leadership of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. If the Governor signs the Bill, there will be no scope for free expression, and Karnataka could be turned into a police state. Then how will democracy be protected?” he questioned.

“We have urged the Governor not to give consent to this Bill, which has been brought by the Congress as part of a conspiracy. This Bill will snatch away the rights of the people and curb freedom of speech,” Ashoka alleged.

He also raised the issue of the alleged attack on BJP MLA Gali Janardhana Reddy and the murder of a Congress worker in Ballari.

“Whoever commits murder, it remains murder. The investigation has been rendered directionless. Those who conspired have not been touched, and the case is being hushed up,” he claimed and demanded that the matter must be handed over to the CBI.

Addressing reporters, Narayanaswamy said that law and order had collapsed in the state and that the biased approach of the government had been brought to the notice of the Governor.

“The law and order situation in the state is the worst. In the Janardhana Reddy case and the murder of Congress worker Rajashekar, no arrests have been made. In Hubballi, in the case involving the stripping of a BJP woman worker, an attempt-to-murder case has been registered against the victim. In Ballari, a murder has occurred, but no arrests have been made,” he said.

Former Deputy Chief Minister and MP Govind Karjol, Legislative Council Opposition Chief Whip N. Ravikumar, MP P.C. Mohan, MLAs S.R. Vishwanath and S. Muniraju, Legislative Council members Bharathi Shetty and Keshav Prasad, BJP State Vice President Malavika Avinash, State General Secretary H.C. Thammesh Gowda, State Chief Spokesperson Ashwath Narayan, State Spokesperson Prakash Shesharaghavachar, retired IPS officer Bhaskar Rao, Bengaluru North District President S. Harish, Bengaluru Central District President Saptagiri Gowda, and other leaders were present during the meeting.