Daijiworld Media Network - Bantwal (SP)
Bantwal, Sep 30: MLA Ramanath Rai exhorted the people not to do anything that disrupts communal harmony and to find solutions to all such problems within the legal framework. He was speaking, after presiding over the peace committee meeting held in the taluk panchayat auditorium here on Monday September 29.
Mangalore MLA U T Khader insisted, that the peace committees should have specific by-laws for their efficient functioning and also that identity cards should be issued to its members. "Every one should shun the feelings of hatred and enmity before attending peace committee meetings. It is easy to sow the seeds of animosity and fuel disturbances. But we should together work to ensure that peace returns and prevails in the society for a long time. All sorts of protests should necessarily be within the acceptable legal framework," he felt.
In the beginning, additiional district superintendent of police Dileep Kumar requested people not to do anything that disrupts the peace process, like repeatedly speaking and critically reviewing about what had happened in the past. He asked the people to come up with practicable suggestions to see that peace and tranquility gets established in the society in the coming days.
Ashok Shetty Sarapady and Santosh Kumar Rai expressed the opinion, that religious conversions and cow-slaughter have been the two major issues that have vitiated the atmosphere in the district. Ex MLAs A Rukmaya Poojary and K Padmanabh Kottary wanted the peace committee meetings to be convened immediately after the disturbances take place. Both of them advocated, that those who are engaged in diruptive activities, should never be spared.
Ex zilla panchayat(ZP) president Mamata Gatti said, that the protestors frequently resort to staging national highway and other road blockades, all of a sudden. Such tendencies should be curtailed, she demanded. Another ZP ex-president B Sadanand Poonja called upon the people to exercise restraint and ensure that religious sentiments are not hurt.
Dolphi Prashant D'Souza said, that historically, all the Christians and Muslims in India, were Hindus and had undergone religous conversions under the conditions prevailing then. However, we should not rake up this issue in the present context, he added.
While ex-president of ZP M S Mohammed asked the police officers and other personnel not to have any contacts with those having criminal background, Richard Monteiro wanted a place at the taluk headquarters, earmarked specially for staging protests. Devadas Shetty accused all the fact-finding committees that visited the district subsequent to the occurence of the recent unfortunate incidents, of being one-sided. He accused the committees of being partisan, trying to fuel the passions and siding with one community.
Other speakers demanded for the political interference in the functioning of the police department to be stopped. They also wanted shortage of the police pesonnel to be made good apart from deployment of additional police forces during public processions.
DySP Harishchandra, taluk panchayat president Chandrahas Shetty Bolantoor, TP vice president Kanchalakshi and Bantwal municipal president Yashoda were present at the dais. Bantwal tahsildar C S Manjunath welcomed and proposed vote of thanks.