The Congress has taken objection to Hindutva groups felicitating the two men accused of murdering journalist and Hindutva critic Gauri Lankesh.

The Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) posted a video on its X (formerly Twitter) handle on Monday morning in which some people were seen garlanding Parashuram Waghmore, 33, the alleged shooter of Lankesh, and co-accused Manohar Edave, 40, in Vijaypura, Karnataka.

“Gauri Lankesh's murderers, cowards who shot a lady and ran away, are garlanded with Saffron clothes. Saffron represents courage and sacrifice, not crime and cowardice. Right wing is destroying Hinduism piece by piece.” The KPCC wrote on X.

A special court released both Waghmore and Edave on bail on October 10.

Gauri, a vocal critic of right-wing politics, was shot moments after she had entered her residential compound in Bangalore’s Rajarajeshwari Nagar on September 5, 2017.

The shooter wore a full-face helmet as he stepped off a motorbike and fired four shots at the journalist.

Waghmare, an activist of the Sri Ram Sene, a right-wing group well known in Karnataka, was arrested in June, 2018.

The two accused were welcomed in Vijaypura by “local pro-Hindu supporters with garlands, orange shawls, and chants of celebration. Then the two were taken to a statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji, which they garlanded as a symbolic gesture. Following this, they visited the Kalika temple to offer prayers,” according to a report on the India Today website.

"Today is Vijayadasami, a significant day for us. We welcomed Parashuram Waghmore and Manohar Yadve, who have been unfairly jailed for six years on charges related to the murder of Gauri Lankesh. The real culprits have yet to be found, but these men were targeted simply because they are pro-Hindu workers. Their families have suffered, and this injustice needs serious introspection". A pro-Hindu leader told India Today.

Right-wing outfits have come in for criticism earlier for such moves.

On August 17, 2022, activists of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad garlanded 11 accused of the Bilkis Bano rape case after the Gujarat government released them.