'Arrest of youth for pro-PM slogan shows Cong culture'

The BJP on Tuesday described the "arrest of four persons for chanting the name of Prime Minister Narendra Modi" as symptomatic of Congress' tendency to suppress free speech.

Senior BJP leader R Ashok, who is leading the party's election campaign in the state, rejected claims that the youth were BJP workers. "Four persons have been arrested for chanting name of Modi. They were held by police till 10 pm, harassed and their mobiles were taken away. They are not BJP workers. But we will do everything to help those who believe in the party," he said.

Ashok sought to compare the incident with the silence of the police in the case of Congress leader Belur Gopalkrishna, who called for the "murder of Modi".

"Similarly, no efforts have been made to trace an accountant of Rural Development and Panchayat Raj minister Krishna Byre Gowda though he was caught taking Rs 2 crore. The ACB police have not been allowed to investigate the case in which Rs 25 lakh was seized in Vidhana Soudha," he said.

He said Rahul Gandhi should have taken the youths' support for Modi sportively instead of suppressing free speech.

BJP leader and Rajya Sabha member Rajeev Chandrashekar termed Rahul a "hypocrite" who talks of speaks freedom of experience in Delhi and suppressed criticism in Bengaluru. He said police should be focusing on stopping the loot of the state by ruling coalition rather than suppressing youth.