Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Thursday said that Al-Qaeda’s reaction to the hijab row in Karnataka was evidence of the involvement of unseen or hidden forces to foment trouble in society.
Speaking to mediapersons in Mysuru, Mr. Bommai said he was not surprised as there were continuous efforts by certain forces to create tension and provoke unrest in society in the State and the country by raking up issues. The Al-Qaeda chief has aired his opinion on the hijab issue and it was clearly a part of continuing efforts to create such unrests, he added.
Mr. Bommai said he had already asked the police to ascertain the veracity and the authenticity of the tape and the statement and investigate to unravel the links.
Rebuffing the purported statement of former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah that both the BJP and the RSS were behind the Al-Qaeda tape, Mr. Bommai dismissed it as devoid of logic and evidence. ‘’But what is surprising is Mr. Siddaramaiah gets perturbed if Al-Qaeda’s involvement gets exposed,” he added.
On his visit to Delhi, Mr. Bommai described it as successful and expressed confidence of many projects being sanctioned or approved for Karnataka in the days ahead.
The Chief Minister was in the city for inauguration of a new block at Shakti Dhama, an institution for destitute children and women. The new block was funded by Infosys Foundation and includes a library and a dining hall, among others.
