Bengaluru, May 18 : A BJP delegation led by former Chief Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda met Karnataka Director General of Police Alok Mohan at his office in Bengaluru on Saturday to express concern over Hindus being treated as 'second-class' citizens in the state.

The delegation urged the DGP to address the collapse of law and order, the rising crime rate, and to initiate immediate action by convening a meeting of senior officials and giving them proper direction. They submitted a two-page memorandum to the DGP.

Former CM Sadananda Gowda stated, 'We strongly condemn the Congress government's approach of treating Hindus as second-class citizens. The Congress government hesitates when a crime involves accused individuals from minority religions. A couple had to bear the brunt of moral policing by a gang of Muslims. When they approached the government for protection, it tried to hush up the case. Miscreants attacked a shopkeeper in Nagarathpet in Bengaluru for playing the Hanuman Chalisa. The Congress defended this."

Gowda charged that the state has deteriorated to such an extent that a man wielding a gun in full public view is allowed to garland the CM. The people of the state are living in fear. One section of the population receives preferential treatment, while another is jailed and attacked. People are living with a sense of insecurity following incidents of communal and political violence. The Congress government is harbouring a grudge against BJP party workers.

BJP Vice President Malavika Avinash stated, 'Time and again it is proven that there is no safety for women during the regime of the Congress government. The Belagavi incident where a 42-year-old woman was paraded nude was inhuman. The police department totally failed to handle the case, even as the winter assembly session was being held in Belagavi.'

The state has witnessed many murders, including the cases of college student Neha Hiremath and a young woman Ambika Ambigara. Atrocities against women are on the rise, and the police department has not taken unbiased action in this regard, Malavika stated.

'The state is turning into the crime capital of the country. The state, once known for its law and order, is now witnessing a collapse in this area. There has been a sudden surge in crimes against women, murders, extortion, and atrocities against the poor and oppressed classes. The state has now earned the title of 'crime capital,'' she noted.

Malavika stated that according to a study Karnataka stands ninth in terms of economic offences and third in crimes against women. It is also worrying that crimes against senior citizens have increased by 86 percent.

BJP MLA C.K. Ramamurthy stated that the Congress government is not concerned about the law and order situation. No action has been initiated despite the rise in the number of crimes.

/IANS