Not given a clean chit to Amnesty: K'taka minister

BENGALURU: Under attack over the Amnesty International row, Karnataka home minister G Parameshwara on Monday said he had not given a clean chit to the rights advocacy group, which has been booked for sedition for hosting an event where anti-India slogans were allegedly raised.

“First of all let me clarify because there is a lot of talk in the media about it... Let me be very clear, I have not given any clean chit to Amnesty International,” Parameshwara said as he went into damage control mode after his remarks drew sharp criticism.

Parameshwara had on August 20 said Amnesty has never involved itself in any kind of anti-national activities.

“All I have said is that I have not heard of Amnesty International being involved in any anti-national activity. Second thing is, there is an investigation going on, and I am not a fool to say that everything is well,” he said.

Parameshwarasaidhisremarks had been misinterpreted. “Of course, I have been misinterpreted. ThatiswhyIdidnotwanttoreactto it unnecessarily,” he added.

Parameshwara rejected the charge by some Union ministers that the state government was protecting Amnesty. “They (BJP) have the government of India in their hands and also all investigation agencies in their hands. Let them find out what Amnesty international is doing and take action accordingly,” he said. PTI

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