Karnataka bats for south coalition against 'anti-national forces'

Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai is pushing for a south-India coalition to crack down on “anti-national forces” as Karnataka recorded a five-year high in offences against the state, including sedition.

In 2019, Karnataka registered 36 cases for offences against the state such as sedition and waging war against the nation, the highest among all states, according to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB).

“There is a conspiracy being hatched by anti-national forces that are mainly concentrated in states like Tamil Nadu and Kerala,” Bommai told DH. “Karnataka is now taking the lead in joining hands with all the southern states to tackle this,” he said.

The Home Minister added that such cooperation between the states was on since the last 8-10 months and he wanted to firm it up further.

Bommai pointed out that over 20 people from Karnataka had been arrested for “anti-national” activities. “They are currently in Tihar Jail.”

The minister, however, admitted that sedition cases need to be watertight during court trials. “Sedition cases will stand in court only if we manage to collect evidence,” he said.

In the past one year, the state reported nine incidents of communal strife leading to 11 cases in which more than 140 people have been named as accused.

Bommai said the police are taking up “peace meetings” every month, especially during festivals and religious fairs. He added that preventive measures are invoked under CrPC sections 107-110 to maintain law and order.

Since 2015, crimes other than sedition considered to be against public tranquillity have come down, according to data. For instance, Karnataka saw zero unlawful assembly cases in 2019 from 112 five years ago. The numbers have similarly dropped for communal/religious riots, political rioting, agrarian rioting and caste conflicts.

“This doesn’t necessarily mean better policing,” retired DG&IGP S T Ramesh told DH. “If preventable crime such as property offences show a decline, then it would indicate better policing. It’s easier not to bring cases of unlawful assembly on record. Police can effect compromise or dilute them by showing less than five people since rioting happens only if there are five or more people. Or, police just register less number of cases by clubbing incidents together,” he explained.

He also pointed out that southern states have always worked together on professional lines. “The term ‘anti-national’ is very generic and doesn’t have a legal definition. In any case, I think sedition law is colonial, an anachronism in this day and age,” he said.