Mangalore: Attack on churches, politics and blame game!
Richa Nayak - Mangalore
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Mangalore, Oct 15: Undivided South Kanara was relatively peaceful compared to other parts of Karnataka not long ago. But post 2008 assembly elections, a lot many communal and disturbing incidents happened in Mangalore and other part of DK and Udupi which eventually led to political blame game.
File Photo
The infamous 2008 September church attack was a black dot on the then BJP government led by B S Yeddyurappa. The common slogan that came into existence was that minorities and their places of worship were no longer safe under the BJP government. Not only in Mangalore, but in several other parts of the state Christian places of worship had been attacked by the miscreants. The incidents, even though small in nature, attracted media attention and were projected as major threat to minorities. A section of the people were not ready to buy any argument but that the BJP government was fully responsible for the attacks.
People even aired opinion that saffron groups were well supported by the government, and that they were responsible for such attacks on churches and other places of worship.
The other opinion freely distributed among the masses was that police were in hand in glove with the BJP and saffron leaders.
Though there were several enquiries and investigations by various departments of the government, people who could see BJP only negatively were not ready to accept anything less than a change of government, which they felt was the only solution to bring positive changes in the state and enable minorities to live peacefully.
Incidentally, on Sunday, a holiday for Christians, a grotto was attacked by miscreants at Loretto in Bantwal. It was a pleasant surprise to see that those media which had sensationalized even the smallest attack on Christian places of worship kept mum on Sunday, with hardly any visual media reporting on this.
I would like to throw open questions to those so-called seculars who maligned the BJP during its regime - why did such an incident take place during the current Congress government? DK and Udupi have given four important ministers to the state government, why can't they take moral responsibility and resign, or at least take stringent action against the culprits? Those who were sitting for rallies and dharnas during the BJP regime, why are they quiet now? Why this double standard and why this hypocrisy?
Those who believe that certain incidents happen only during a particular government's rule must now open their eyes and accept the truth. For crime, there is no caste, creed or politics. It can happen any time, under any government.
Hope the 'intelligent' people of DK will learn some lessons from this incident and stop politicizing and indulging in blame games in future.