"BJP opposes all good steps taken by govt": Congress MLA Haris after Karnataka Assembly passes Hate Speech bill

Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], December 18 (ANI): After the Karnataka Assembly passed the Hate Speech and Hate Crimes Prevention Bill, 2025, Congress MLA NA Haris on Thursday asserted that the Bharatiya Janata Party is opposing every good step taken by the state government.
He said that for the BJP, politics is more important than building a good society, highlighting that the government is talking about a society where no hate speech is spread, and everyone can live together.
"The BJP opposes all the good steps taken by the government. For them, politics is more important than building a good society. We are talking about a society where no hate speech is spread, we can all live together," he told reporters.
The Karnataka Legislative Assembly on Thursday passed the Hate Speech and Hate Crimes Prevention Bill, 2025, to curb acts that promote enmity, hatred, and disharmony among individuals and communities.
The Bill was taken up for discussion in the Assembly in Belagavi, where Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara detailed its provisions and explained the need to clearly define hate speech and hate crimes within a legal framework.
Defining hate speech, Parameshwara said it refers to "the communication of hate speech by making, publishing, or circulating, or any act of promoting, propagating, inciting, abetting, or attempting such hate speech to cause disharmony or feelings of enmity, hatred, or ill-will against any person (dead or alive) or a group of persons or an organisation."
Explaining the intent of the legislation, the Home Minister said that hate crimes needed a precise definition to effectively address statements and actions that target specific communities. "It's about someone speaking out against a particular community," he said. (ANI)