Daijiworld Media Network- Mangaluru (SB)

Mangaluru, Jul 13: Condemning the recent attacks and cases against Hindu community leaders and members, the Dakshina Kannada district unit of Bharathiya Janata Party (BJP) Mahila Morcha, held a protest meet at Town Hall on Thursday, July 13.

Addressing the gathering, former chief minister and state BJP president B S Yeddyurappa said, "We do not need D V Sadananda Gowda or Shobha Karandlaje to defeat Ramanath Rai in elections. Even a party worker can defeat him and we will prove that in the upcoming elections. Rai is playing political games with the help of communal forces. Siddaramaiah-led government will be finished in eight months. Congress party will disappear after that. We will now allow you to divide our state,"

"After becoming in-charge of Karnataka Congress, KC Venugopal who is from Kerala, is trying to implement Kerala style politics in Karnataka. He is passing instructions to target members of Hindu community. But we will not allow this to happen here. They can arrest Kalladka Prabhakar Bhat, Shobha Karandlaje and Nalin Kumar Kateel at their own risk. In future, forget about leaders, we will not allow the arrest of even our members. If Siddaramaiah tries to book Hindus, we will not remain quiet. The government should arrest Sharath Madiwala’s murderers immediately. Today, we have restricted this protest to Town Hall. In the coming days, we will hold a public protest with the support of lacs of Hindu members," he added.

Shobha Karandlaje, MP, Udupi-Chikkamagaluru constituency said, "Ministers Ramanath Rai and U T Khader are behind the recent communal incidents in Dakshina Kannada. They are pressurising police to arrest Hindu leaders. I am challenging Rai and the state government to arrest Kalladka Prabhakar Bhat and me. If they arrest us, that will be the last nail in Congress' coffin. The state government should hand over the inquiry into the recent communal incidents to National Investigation Agency (NIA). There is no doubt that in the coming days, Congress will become a big zero in Dakshina Kannada."

MP Nalin Kumar Kateel said, "We have seen Mujahideen sponsored terrorism in Kashmir. Now Congress is sponsoring terrorism in Dakshina Kannada. Ramanath Rai is the in-charge of this terrorism. He is using police for his terrorist activities. The state government is booking false cases against us. We are happy as these cases are not for criminal activities, but for the protection of community and in the interest of the society. We had arrested the culprits of church attacks which happened during our tenure. We never supported anyone. But this government is supporting only one community. Today, the district administration has organised a peace meeting. But without the arrest of Sharath's murderers, we will not attend any of these peace meetings."

MLC Kota Srinivas Poojary said, "Yeddyurappa rushed to this district once he heard about the attacks on Hindus here. But chief minister Siddaramaiah is not bothered. Congress and Ramanath Rai are trying to make our district another Kashmir. Law and order has completely failed and Islamic extremists and terrorists are wandering here without any fear. The government is not interested in arresting the murderers of Sharath Madiwala, but are booking Hindu leaders who are demanding justice for the deceased Sharath. If the government arrests Kalladka Prabhakar Bhat without any evidence, it equals to the arrest of the entire Hindu community. The government will be held responsible for further consequences."

MLC Capt Ganesh Karnik said, "These communal violence incidents are taking place only in constituencies of ministers Ramanath Rai and U T Khader. This shows that they both failed in their responsibilities and duties. The police department has become puppets of these two ministers. The police are busy raiding Hindu leaders' houses and booking them with false cases. Who will catch the murderers of Sharath Madiwala? The government is not showing any interest to investigate this case. It is only targeting the Hindu community. This is the result of a mistake made by the people of Dakshina Kannada four years back. You all have to think this time for Hindu community."

Earlier, BJP state Mahila Morcha spokesperson Sulochana G K Bhat in her introductory speech said, "Ramanath Rai is acting innocent. Actually, he is directly responsible for the recent incidents. He knows everything and is instructing police to book false cases against Hindus. No action has been taken on the attacks on Hindu community members. But, the police take quick action if there is attack on any member of the Muslim community. So Rai and the Congress are busy with vote bank politics. They are following anti-Hindu policies. We will give them the right answer in both political and communal way."

BJP leaders Sanjeev Matandur, Monappa Bhandary, Angara, Mallika Prasad, Pooja Pai and others were present.