Bengaluru: The BJP on Friday petitioned Governor Vajubhai Vala to keep senior journalist, Gauri Lankesh away from the committee formed by the government to help Naxals surrender, alleging that she was a Naxal sympathiser.
Emerging from Raj Bhavan after submitting a memorandum, former minister, C.T. Ravi claimed Ms Lankesh, who is convenor of the Civilian Forum for Peace, was a Naxal supporter and her presence on the committee was likely to help the ultras rather than the government .
“The police had in a report in 2004 said Gauri Lankesh was directly supporting Naxals. It was during the killing of Naxalite Saketh Rajan in 2005 that her involvement in Naxal activities came to light,” he alleged.
Mr Ravi appealed to the Governor to stop approaching Naxal leaders like Sirimane Nagraj and Noor Zulfiqar to surrender as they were old and no longer active in the movement.
“Instead of targeting them, the government should attempt to bring Naxalites like Vikram Gowda, B.G. Krishnamurthy, Mandagadde Latha and Prabha into the mainstream,” Mr. Ravi advised.
