Bengaluru: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the principal opposition party in Karnataka, has accused the D.K. Shivakumar-led Congress government of stifling free speech after Bengaluru Police restricted a local theatre from staging plays in its establishment.
The Banashankari Police Station issued a notice to Suchitra Cinema and Cultural Academy to stop all ongoing and future shows on hold after the incident Saturday night in which Congress workers interrupted the play M.K. Gandhi, Gandhi Hatya Satya (the truth about Gandhi’s murder), and threw black ink at playwright Addanda Cariappa’s face.
The police said it has received complaints and counter-complaints on the issue, and that it is currently probing the incident. “Therefore, you are advised to postpone the performances taking place/going at your academy from today until further orders. If any drama/performances take place and disturb the law and order, legal action will be taken against you and the academy,” read the notice by the Banashankari Police Inspector, dated 1 November.
An unidentified person hurled a shoe at the controversial playwright Monday following the altercation Saturday evening during which members of the audience smeared ink on Cariappa’s face in protest.
It was alleged that the perpetrators were from the ruling party and accused him of spreading falsehoods and tarnishing Gandhi’s image.
Cariappa is no stranger to controversy. It was from his book Tipu Nija Kanasugalu (The real dreams of Tipu Sultan) that the BJP politicised the Vokkaliga chieftains Uri Gowda and Nanje Gowda, lionising the two fictional characters to curry favour from the dominant agrarian community in the run-up to the 2023 Assembly elections in Karnataka.
The BJP called the police notice an attempt to silence voices and room for debate. “Freedom of expression is not alms granted by your government; it is a right granted by the Constitution. In 1975, Indira Gandhi imposed Emergency and slit the throat of democracy. Today, is the same Congress in Karnataka, with the same authoritarian mindset, marching towards strangling democracy?” Tejasvi Surya, BJP MP from Bengaluru South, said in a post.
He added that the ruling party was shielding the perpetrators and reverting to its authoritarian tactics.
“Those who cannot face debate, those who cannot answer questions, hide behind police authority; those who cannot tolerate the truth resort to the weapon of prohibition. The police department is not armour to protect your political prestige; it is a system to safeguard law and justice,” he added.
ಮಾನ್ಯ ಮುಖ್ಯಮಂತ್ರಿಗಳೇ !!
ಅಭಿವ್ಯಕ್ತಿ ಸ್ವಾತಂತ್ರ್ಯ ನಿಮ್ಮ ಸರ್ಕಾರ ನೀಡುವ ಭಿಕ್ಷೆಯಲ್ಲ, ಅದು ಸಂವಿಧಾನ ನೀಡಿರುವ ಹಕ್ಕು.
1975ರಲ್ಲಿ ಇಂದಿರಾ ಗಾಂಧಿ ತುರ್ತು ಪರಿಸ್ಥಿತಿ ಹೇರಿ ಪ್ರಜಾಪ್ರಭುತ್ವದ ಕತ್ತು ಹಿಸುಕಿದ್ದರು. ಇಂದು ಕರ್ನಾಟಕದಲ್ಲಿ ಅದೇ ಕಾಂಗ್ರೆಸ್, ಅದೇ ಸರ್ವಾಧಿಕಾರದ ಮನಸ್ಥಿತಿಯೊಂದಿಗೆ ಪ್ರಜಾಪ್ರಭುತ್ವದ ಕಗ್ಗೊಲೆಗೆ… pic.twitter.com/5ipCtNy1MM
— Tejasvi Surya (@Tejasvi_Surya) November 2, 2026
C.T. Ravi, the former Karnataka Minister and incumbent Member of Legislative Council said that Shivakumar has imposed an “undeclared emergency”. “Justifying a violent attack in the name of supporting Gandhiji is certainly not Gandhism. The Indian National Congress party and its goons have not handed over Gandhiji on contract,” he added.
1975ರಲ್ಲಿ ಇಂದಿರಾ ಗಾಂಧಿಯವರು ಭಾರತದಲ್ಲಿ ಹೇರಿದ್ದ ತುರ್ತು ಪರಿಸ್ಥಿತಿಯನ್ನು @DKShivakumar ಸರ್ಕಾರ ರಾಜ್ಯದಲ್ಲಿ ಅಘೋಷಿತವಾಗಿ ಹೇರಲು ಪ್ರಯತ್ನ ನಡೆಸುತ್ತಿದೆಯೇ?
ಇತ್ತೀಚೆಗೆ ಹಿರಿಯ ರಂಗಕರ್ಮಿ ಶ್ರೀ ಅಡ್ಡಂಡ ಕಾರ್ಯಪ್ಪ ಅವರ ಮೇಲೆ ಹಲ್ಲೆ, ಮಸಿ ಬಳಿಯುವ ದುಷ್ಕೃತ್ಯಗಳನ್ನು ಕಾಂಗ್ರೆಸ್ ಗೂಂಡಾಗಳು ಎಸಗಿದ್ದರು. ಆ ದುಷ್ಕರ್ಮಿಗಳನ್ನು… pic.twitter.com/4ZIKB4Rik7
— Dr. Ravi C. T 🇮🇳 ಡಾ. ರವಿ ಸಿ. ಟಿ (@CTRavi_BJP) November 2, 2026
Cariappa is a popular author among the BJP ecosystem and has written several books, including Sathyavanne Heluthene (Will speak only the truth), Nija Mahatma Dada Saheb (Baba Saheb is the real Mahatma), Tipu Kanasugalu and several others.
The playwright Sunday reacted to the attacks, saying on social media that the “show must go on”.
“This is the theatre ideology. Yesterday this ideology won. Three police vans, including KSRP, and more than 200 policemen were deployed to protect our play for just 10 young goons,” Cariappa said on Facebook.
(Edited by Nardeep Singh Dahiya)
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