Umesh Marpalli/Silvester D'Souza
Daijiworld Media Network - Udupi/Kundapur (SP)
Udupi, Nov 13: Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) organized a protest here on Friday November 13, against the recent incidents in Kodagu district where a VHP leader died during violence that erupted on Tipu Jayanti and the anti-people attitude of the state government.
Addressing the protesters, MP representing Udupi-Chikkamagaluru Lok Sabha constituency, Shobha Karandlaje, directly held the state government responsible for giving rise to commotion, confusion, and disturbances on account of its own wrong initiatives. She blamed the Chief Minister (CM) for trying to eulogize Tipu Sultan, and termed the deaths connected with Tipu's birth anniversary celebrations as the ones which were sponsored by the government.
"What objective has the CM achieved by deciding to celebrate Tipu Jayanti? Four persons have lost their lives. The government should come out with its explanation. A youth named Harish was killed in Bantwal. The government's action has given rise to lot of confusion. About a week back, protests had been held against celebrating Tipu Jayanti in Kodagu district, but nothing was done. Why did the district deputy commissioner go on leave at this crucial juncture?," she questioned.
Shobha pointed out that Hindu organizations have been opposing celebration of Tipu Jayanti since long. She questioned whether the intelligence in the state is dead or alive, as she wondered why then was the chief minister not kept abreast of the fact that over 5,000 activists had poured into Kodagu from Kerala on the above occasion. "The CM should have been aware of this fact? Was this intelligence output not shared with him? Why did the administration not stop the procession at Madikeri? We want detailed explanation to all these questions," she said.
She noted that immediately upon the death of Kuttappa in Kodagu, the then district in-charge minister, George, had told the media that the victim had fallen down and died. She wanted to know whether the minister was an astrologer to guess how Kuttappa died. "Such things will cast direct influence on the outcome of investigation. The home minister is camping at New Delhi at this time. There is suspicion about the very motive of the government," she stated.
She noted that Jnanpith awards are being given to people having no knowledge, going by the utterances of Girish Karnad.
"During the last 30 months of Congress rule, majority Hindus in the state are facing injustices one after the other. Caste-based conventions, caste-based census and such other things clearly point out to the 'divide and rule' policey which was once employed by the Britishers being aped now by the CM to serve his vote bank politics. The CM is directly liable for communal conflicts arising out of his actions. People need to realize the affects of 'Shaadi Bhagya' scheme implemented by the state government. The government should come out with figures how many Muslims have benefitted out of this scheme. This scheme was primarily drafted to get their votes," she felt.
Shobha recalled that Kodavas and Christians had expressed their opposition to the celebration of Tipu Jayanti and wondered why the government still go ahead with its plan.
Vishwa Hindu Parishad district president, Baikady Suprasad Shetty, speaking on the occasion, said that his organization will not allow any of Karnad's plays to be staged in the district and challenged people with guts to accept this as a challenge. He said that the CM is now facing the curse of the divine mother, cow. In the past, those who tried to glorify Tipu Sultan have bitten dust, and the CM too will meet the same fate, he predicted.
Former MLA, K Raghupathi Bhat, district BJP president, Tingale Vikramarjun Hegde, district BJP spokesperson, Mattar Ratnakar Hegde, Dinesh Mendon, Prakash Kukkehalli, Shyamala Kunder, Prakash Bangera, taluk panchayat members, local municipal councillors, etc were present.
Along with the protest, road blockade was held near the clock tower opposite city service bus stand for about 15 minutes. About 500 protesters were present for the programme. The policemen asked the protesters to disperse. When they refused, they were formally detained. MP, Shobha Karandlaje, then returned by her car, and protesters were set free by the police.
Kundapur
Traffic was blocked at Shastri Circle here on Friday in protest against anti-Hindu policies of the state government and the murder of a VHP leader at Madikeri during Tipu Jayanti.
MLC, Kota Srinivas Poojary, addressing the protesters, termed the anti-people stance of the state government as unfortunate, as any government is expected to work to win over the trust of the people. "If we have a look at the recent deaths, we come to know about the irresponsible handing of matter by the state government. This is nothing but a tragic development. When BJP was in power in the state, it did not allow communal frictions, and allowed friction-free environment to prevail. It also dealt with people from all the communities in a balanced manner. But the government led by Siddaramaiah has been splitting the society on the lines of caste, religion etc, thus paving way for frictions within the society," he said.
Poojary said that these developments make one to speculate that the state government is doing all these things because of some hidden agenda, thus disturbing law and order situation in the country. He accused the state government of pushing the people to confusion and disrupting peace by taking steps to celebrate the birth anniversary of Tipu Sultan.
He asked the CM to step down if he is unable to respect the sentiments of people from all communities.
BJP district vice president, Belve Vasantkumar Shetty, Kundapur block BJP president, Rajesh Kaveri, State fisheries cell president, Kishore Kumar, taluk panchayat president, Bhaskar BIllava, zilla panchayat member, Ganapati T Shriyan, Subrahmanya Holla, Arvind Koteshwar and several others took part in the protest.
As the highway was blocked for over 30 minutes, long line of vehicles was formed on both sides of the circle. The police had beefed up security in view of the protest.