AMN
Opposition parties have condemned the gruesome murder of senior journalist Gauri Lankesh saying truth will never be silenced by guns.
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi condemned the killing of senior Kannada journalist Gauri Lankesh today, saying the truth will never be silenced. “The truth will never be silenced. Gauri Lankesh lives on in our hearts. My condolences and love to her family. The culprits have to be punished,” he said on Twitter.
West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamul Congress President, Mamata Banerjee has called out for immediate arrest of the perperators. “Saddened at the killing of journalist Gauri Lankesh in Bengaluru. Most unfortunate. Very alarming. We want justice,” Ms. Banerjee tweeted.
Ms. Lankesh’s murder follows equally violent deaths of rationalists M.M. Kalburgi, Govind Pansare and Narendra Dhabolkar. Flagging the trend CPI (M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury said, “The cold-blooded murder of Gauri Lankesh is reprehensible. Dabholkar, Pansare, Kalburgi — such murderous violence has an errie pattern.” He also questioned on forces behind building up an atmoshphere of intolernace and violence. “Who has fostered this climate of bigotry, hate, intolerance & violence in India that took her life today? Why was she such a threat to them?” Mr Yechury said.
“Gauri Lankesh was never afraid to expose communal forces. Ever since BJP came to power Hindutva forces have become aggressive, at one level they resort to mob-lynching and at another level they carry on individual annihilation. Secular and democratic forces must standup to this challenge,” CPI leader D. Raja said.
Congress general secretary B.K. Hariprasad, who is from Karnataka and was a friend of Gauri Lankesh, said: “This is shocking news and that too from Bengaluru, once considered one of the safest cities in the country. Earlier, there was no place for right-wing activity in Bengaluru. Gauri was very noble and upright, known for her rational critique of right wing politics. This was a cowardly attack by people opposed to her thinking. I am sure that the Karnataka government will conduct a serious investigation.”
MEANWHILE Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah three police teams have been constituted to probe the killing. He said, instructions have been issued to crack the case and bring the culprits to book at the earliest.
Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Rajyavardhan Rathore took twitter to denounce the incident. Condemning all acts of violence against journalists, Mr. Rathore said, this is a heinous murder.