Hindutva leader says on Gauri Lankesh murder that the PM does not need to comment “if a dog dies”

Defending Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s silence over the killing of journalist Gauri Lankesh, the chief of Hindutva group Sri Ram Sene, Pramod Muthalik, on Sunday said the PM did not need to react to a “dog’s death in Karnataka”.

At a meeting in Bengaluru on Sunday, Muthalik asked why no one had commented when four people were killed in Karnataka and Maharashtra under the Congress government.

Earlier, a photograph of Muthalik with one of the suspects, Parashuram Waghmare, had surfaced across social media platforms. Waghmare was arrested on June 12 by the special investigating team (SIT) for his alleged involvement in the killing.

Muthalik denied Waghmare had any connection with the outfit, saying many people clicked photographs with him but that did not make them their party workers. The special team also summoned Sri Ram Sene leader Rakesh Math who allegedly brainwashed Waghmare to kill Lankesh.

Gauri Lankesh, who was vocal against right-wing groups, was gunned down outside her residence in Bengaluru on September 5 last year.