From Our Special Correspondent

Daijiworld Media Network

Bengaluru, Oct 4: Former BJP Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Wednesday alleged that the recent Shivamogga clashes were due to the appeasement politics of the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government.

Speaking to media persons, the BJP leader claimed that anti-social forces had become more powerful due to the appeasement politics of the Congress party.

Bommai said the favoritism shown to one community led to the clashes, and the persons involved must be dealt with sternly. However, the ruling party is trying to give a clean chit to the culprits, he alleged.

The BJP leader attacked Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar for seeking the withdrawal of cases against those responsible for the clashes in Hubballi.

Bommai attacked Home Minister Dr. G Parameshwar for dismissing the Shivamogga trouble as a minor issue. The removal of flex banners of Hindu activists in Udupi is all part of the appeasement politics, he said.

The BJP leader claimed that his party had never opposed caste census and pointed out that the Kantharaju commission appointed by the previous Congress government was not a caste census but a social-economic survey, as per Siddaramaiah.

However, he pointed out that the caste situation in the south is entirely different from that in the north, and therefore it is the responsibility of the government to ensure that justice is done to the backward classes. If the Siddaramaiah regime is serious about the caste census, they could have accepted the Kantharaju report in the past itself. "Let us see what the government is going to do," he said.

Earlier in the morning, Bommai visited the residence of senior BJP leader D B Chandre Gowda and inquired about his health.