Bengaluru, September 15, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Karnataka Congress President B.K. Hariprasad on Tuesday called jailed activist Umar Khalid a “nationalist” and criticised the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) for opposing a proposed screening of a documentary on him at the National Law School of India University (NLSIU) in Bengaluru.
“Umar Khalid is a nationalist. And ABVP has no right to speak about Umar Khalid because ABVP adores Nathuram Godse, who is anti-national; the first terrorist of the country. They have no moral right or moral ethics to speak about Umar Khalid,” Hariprasad told reporters.
His remarks came amid opposition from the ABVP to the proposed screening of filmmaker Lalit Vachani’s documentary, Prisoner No. 626710 is Present, at NLSIU.
The documentary was scheduled to be screened on September 14 by the Law and Society Committee (Law Soc), a student organisation at the university. However, NLSIU said the programme had been rescheduled due to “logistical” and “security considerations”.
The event was planned in solidarity with Umar Khalid and to mark six years since his imprisonment without trial under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) in connection with the 2020 Delhi riots.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) strongly criticised Hariprasad’s remarks, describing them as “deeply condemnable”. The party also brought up the Congress’ past interactions with Kashmiri separatist leader Yasin Malik.
BJP MP Sambit Patra said it was significant that Hariprasad had described Khalid as a nationalist while questioning the ABVP’s credentials.
“Just think about it: this is the same Umar Khalid. During the Citizenship Amendment Act protests in February 2020, so many people were killed in Delhi. A case was filed under the UAPA. The matter was heard across multiple courts; even in February 2026, just a few months ago, the Supreme Court rejected Umar Khalid’s bail plea. Look at the sympathy the Congress party harbours for that very Umar Khalid — they are calling him a nationalist!” Patra said.
Patra also accused the Congress of “appeasement” over its past meetings with Yasin Malik.
“This is the same Congress party that once invited Yasin Malik and embraced him, and former PM late Manmohan Singh had, in a sense, even honoured him. So Yasin Maliks and Umar Khalids are the nationalists for the Congress party, while they have always demeaned the core ideology of India. This is what the Congress party has reduced itself to in appeasement,” he said.
Patra added that the people of Karnataka and the country would give a “fitting reply” to the Congress over the issue.
FOLLOW NOW
