Pics: Umesh Marpalli
Daijiworld Media Network – Udupi (HB/EP)
Udupi, Jul 31: "About 80% of the people in the state are Hindus. Yet we are living as second-grade citizens. When people from the minority communities, comprising less than a quarter of the population face harassment, there are scores of people raising their voice, but nobody comes forward when Hindus are attacked. This is the irony of the Hindu community. There is grim situation in Dakshina Kannada because of Congress policies," said Jagadish Shenava, Dakshina Kannada district president of Vishwa Hindu Parishat.
He was speaking in a meeting held here on Monday July 31 condemning the 'anti-Hindu' policies of the state Congress government. The programme was jointly held by VHP and Bajrang Dal.
"The cases registered against Hindu leaders relating to the funeral procession of RSS worker Sharath Madivala should be withdrawn. The government should stop invoking Goonda Act unnecessarily on them. The policy of suppressing Hindus should be stopped. Police are following different laws for Hindus and Muslims in the Sharath incident," he alleged.
"This meeting has been held to condemn the state government's policy of suppressing Hindus. Sharath's family wanted to donate his organs. But the hospital announced Sharath's death 24 hours late due to the visit of chief minister Siddaramaiah to Dakshina Kannada. Siddaramaiah thus prevented the donation of Sharath's organs. Cases under section 307 and 308 have been slapped against Hindus. Such sections were slapped only for attempt-to-murder in the past, but now they are being invoked indiscriminately.
"Dakshina Kannada district in-charge minister Ramanath Rai does not know anything about law. His attitude is discriminatory. Suspects in Sharath Madivala case have not been arrested even after one month of the murder. The irony is, police visit houses of Hindu activists and drag out their parents, but they have never gone to the house of any SDPI activist," he said.
Targetting the state government, he said, "You (government) will not survive if you try to suppress Hindu leaders. We gathered 25,000 people recently ignoring all prohibitory orders, and one-and-a-half lac people gather for Samajotsavas. The government will fall within a month if Vishwa Hindu Parishat and Bajrang Dal go on protest.
"RSS is for the development of the Hindu community. But SDPI and PFI are only for collection of money. SDPI has started to convert Dakshina Kannada into another Kashmir. I urge all Hindu organizations to join hands for the Hindu religious parliament to be held in November this year," he added.
Udupi district VHP president Vilas Nayak said that section 307 and 308 were slapped on those who took law into their hands before independence. "It seems the present chief minister pushes anybody he can lay hands on into prison. It is in a way like a another freedom struggle," he said.
Leaders Raghu Sakleshpur, Sunil K R, Dinesh Mendon, Narayan Maniani and others were present.