Udupi: Political parties trying to create unrest ahead of polls - Komu Souharda Vedike
Pics: Umesh Marpalli
Daijiworld Media Network – Udupi (EP)
Udupi, Jan 21: "Corruption, misrule and instances of communal violence seen during the previous BJP government were expected to mitigate after Congress came to power, but considering the kind of incidents that have taken place in just six months of Congress regime, it seems like terrible things are in store for people in the days to come," said state secretary of Komu Souharda Vedike K L Ashok.
Addressing a press meet here on Tuesday January 21 to outline the main points of a report prepared by the fact-finding committe of Komu Souharda Vedike's Udupi unit, Ashok said that as elections are nearing, political parties are trying to instigate violence in the communally sensitive coastal region. He alleged that fundamentalist groups of both Muslim and Hindu communities were deliberately trying to create disharmony.
He also condemned the incident wherein a youth was arrested for uploading obscene photos of a girl on Facebook, and pointed that those who claim to protect women had themselves defamed and harmed the reputation of the victim by putting up her uncensored photos on banners across Udupi and on social networking sites. "Is this the way they show concern towards women?" he questioned.
"We appreciate the legal action taken against Mohammed Yaseer, the accused. We urge to ensure that such incidents do not recur. The cyber crime police should conduct an impartial enquiry. Though the girl’s relatives have admitted that she voluntarily involved herself in the act, they have decried an attempt to malign her image. Though the girl has not said that she was raped, some vested interests have been persuading her to file rape complaint against the accused. Nobody should interfere with the case or obstruct her studies," he said.
He added that massive legal and illegal flex hoardings and banners depicting BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi can be seen all over Udupi and coastal Karnataka, which may create an atmosphere of unrest.
Listing out a few of the incidents which he said have damaged the image of the twin districts in the past few months, he said, "Activists of Sangh Parivar have indulged in deadly assaults on people of the Muslim community who transport and slaughter cows and buffaloes for their meat and fights between pro and against slaughter of such animals have continued. This has created fear in the minds of even those who rear cattle for their livelihood," he said.
On the Manipal gang-rape incident of last June, he said, "Despite timely action by the Udupi police with regard to the gang-rape of a medical student of Manipal, we have noticed that RSS has been using the situation to its advantage saying that the Congress party is trying to save the suspects."
"The construction of the mosque building at Nejar near Kallianpur was stopped due to cancellation of permission by Kallianpur gram panchayat. Though the high court has permitted the construction, the panchayat had put forward new excuses though some of the other places of worship existing even on government land. This is unconstitutional," he said.
"We have observed that in college campuses, students have formed caste based groups instead of cordial relationships. The government should intervene to establish friendly atmosphere, free from discrimination in the educational institutions.
"On January 20 in Shirva, a 56-year-old man had committed a crime, but why should the entire community be blamed for his act?What was the need for bandh even after the arrest of the accused? It appears that the RSS is preparing to take political advantage of the incident and trying to create unrest ahead of the elections," he said.