B.K. Hariprasad, the president of the Karnataka Congress, publicly defended imprisoned activist Umar Khalid on Tuesday, labeling him a “nationalist.” This statement comes in response to the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad’s (ABVP) opposition to a planned screening of a documentary about Khalid at the National Law School of India University (NLSIU) in Bengaluru. Hariprasad’s remarks highlight the ongoing tensions surrounding Khalid’s activism and the broader political discourse in the region.
The ABVP in Bengaluru had demanded that the screening be cancelled, while NLSIU later said the event had been rescheduled due to “logistical” and “security considerations”.
“Today, the kind of statement made by Karnataka Congress President B. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) strongly criticised Hariprasad’s remarks. K. Hariprasad is deeply condemnable. In the context of ABVP opposing a documentary screening on Umar Khalid at the National Law School of India University, B.K. Hariprasad referred to Umar Khalid as a nationalist. B.K. “Just think about it: this is the same Umar Khalid. A case was filed under the UAPA. Look at the sympathy the Congress party harbours for that very Umar Khalid — they are calling him a nationalist! Patra added. “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.
During the Citizenship Amendment Act protests in February 2020, so many people were killed in Delhi. 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.
BJP MP Sambit Patra called the statement “deeply condemnable” and questioned the Congress leader’s description of Khalid as a nationalist. Hariprasad claimed that Umar Khalid is a nationalist while raising questions over the credentials of the ABVP,” Patra told reporters. The BJP MP also attacked the Congress over its past interactions with Kashmiri separatist leader Yasin Malik, accusing the party of pursuing “appeasement”. This is what the Congress party has reduced itself to in appeasement,” Patra said. He further said the people of Karnataka and India would give a “fitting reply” to the Congress over its alleged association with Malik.
