A political slugfest started over Gauri Lankesh's murder who was shot in her Bengaluru residence.
The political slugfest over Gauri Lankesh started in earnest after Union Minister Nitin Gadkari took umbrage with Rahul Gandhi's tweets linking the scribe's murder to her outspoken criticism of the ruling party.
The Congress VP had tweeted: "Spoke to the CM of Karnataka and mentioned that it's very important that people who have murdered Gauri Lankesh are caught and punished. Anybody who speaks against the RSS/BJP is attacked &even killed. They want to impose only one ideology which is against the nature of India."
Union Minister Nitin Gadkari today termed as "irresponsible, baseless and false" the allegations linking the killing of journalist Gauri Lankesh to the BJP or people following its ideology.
Slamming the statements of Congress Chief Sonia Gandhi and her deputy Rahul, he said levelling "untrue" allegations against the BJP and the Prime Minister is injustice to his party and detrimental to democracy.
"The present government, the BJP or any of its organisations have no connection with the killing of journalist Gauri Lankesh," the Road Transport, Highways, Shipping and Water Resources Minister told reporters.
He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi is being accused of remaining silent despite people knowing that he is on a foreign visit.
"The reaction on this incident by the president of a political party is very irresponsible, baseless and false," Gadkari said without naming the Congress chief who has said that the killing is a chilling reminder that "intolerance and bigotry are raising their ugly head in our society".
Gadkari said he condemned the incident but the manner in which the ruling party is being portrayed by some political parties was unfortunate and objectionable.
"If there is a murder and somebody is accused of it, unless and until there is any evidence, that person cannot be pronounced guilty. Some people have allergy with Bhartiya Janata Party.
"They are unable to digest the good work by the BJP under the leadership of Prime Minister. They are levelling such false and baseless allegations," the former BJP president said.
He said such "irresponsible and false" allegations "will cause harm to democracy" and any such projection that the BJP is linked to it is injustice to the party.
At the same time, he said the Prime Minister was on a foreign visit and cannot be expected to issue reaction on everything.
Gadkari hit out at Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi, who had alleged that anybody who spoke against the ideology of the BJP and the RSS, was pressured, beaten and even killed.
Earlier, the Congress condemned the killing of journalist Gauri Lankesh with party president Sonia Gandhi saying it was a chilling reminder that "intolerance and bigotry is raising its ugly head in our society".
Her son and party vice president Rahul Gandhi, senior leader P Chidambaram and Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh also expressed shock at the killing of the journalist in Bengaluru yesterday.
In condemning this debilitating attack, the Congress party stands as one with the rationalists, thinkers, journalists and the media fraternity, Sonia Gandhi said.
The Congress president described Lankesh as one with fearless and independent views, who had extraordinary grit and determination to take on the system.
"The series of killings of rationalists, free thinkers and journalists in the country has created an atmosphere that dissent, ideological differences and divergence of views can endanger our lives. This cannot be and should not be tolerated," Sonia Gandhi said in a statement.
"It is an extremely sad moment for our democracy and a chilling reminder of the fact that intolerance and bigotry is raising its ugly head in our society," she said.
Sonia Gandhi as well as Rahul Gandhi have spoken to Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and urged him to swiftly bring the culprits to the book.
"Every possible measure should be taken to maintain a safe and secure atmosphere in the state," she added.
The Union Home Ministry sought a report from the Karnataka government on the killing of journalist Gauri Lankesh in Bengaluru, an official said. The move came after Home Minister Rajnath Singh directed Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba to get a report from the state government, the home ministry official said. The Karnataka government has been asked to provide details of the incident and the steps taken to nab those involved in the killing, the official said.
The 55-year-old journalist, known for her outspoken views on Hindutva politics, was gunned down at her residence in Bengaluru yesterday.
The Karnataka government decided to form a Special Investigation Team to probe the killing. Information and Broadcasting Minister Smriti Irani condemned the killing of Lankesh and hoped there would be a speedy investigation and justice delivered.
The Editors Guild of India "strongly condemned" the murder of Lankesh and called for a judicial probe into the incident.
The Union Cabinet Minister of Textiles and Information and Broadcasting (Additional Charge) Smriti Irani on Wednesday condemned the killing of journalist Gauri Lankesh, adding that she hoped that justice is delivered soon.
Irani took to Twitter and wrote, "Condemn killing of #GauriLankesh. Hope speedy investigation is conducted &justice delivered. Condolences to the family."
Communist Party of India (CPI) leader D. Raja said, "On behalf of my party, I strongly condemn the killing of senior journalist Gauri Lankesh. It is a heinous crime committed by communal forces in Karnataka. The state had earlier witnessed the killing of scholar M.M. Kalburgi now it's Gauri. These atrocious crimes should be stopped and action on these cases should be rightly given".
Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPM) general secretary Sitaram Yechury also took to Twitter and said, "The cold-blooded murder of Gauri Lankesh is reprehensible. Dabholkar, Pansare, Kalburgi - such murderous violence has an eerie pattern."
President of the Press Club of India (PCI) Gautam Lahiri lamented the death of journalist Gauri Lankesh and deemed it as a "sad day for democracy."
Condemning the brutal killing of Gauri Lankesh, senior journalists termed the incident highly despicable and called on Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to order an immediate probe to find the perpetrators.
Many women activists accused the communal and Hindutva forces of attacking and murdering the journalist.
The Indian Cinema also came forward and condemned the incident as well with personalities like Javed Akhtar, Shabana Azmi and Nandita Das expressing anguish over the death.
Earlier, Bengaluru Police Commissioner T. Suneel Kumar said that Gauri Lankesh did not complain of any threats, adding that if there was any, then that will be thoroughly investigated.
"She didn't complain of anything. If she anywhere expressed about threats, it will be thoroughly investigated," Kumar told the media.
He said that Lankesh was found lying all in blood and four empty cartridges were found from the scene of offence.
Lankesh was the editor of the Gauri Lankesh Patrike, a tabloid described as an "anti-establishment" publication.
With inputs from PTI and ANI
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