Daijiworld Media Network – Mangaluru (ANK)

Mangaluru, Aug 29: Dakshina Kannada district in-charge minister Ramanath Rai on Tuesday August 29 announced a 'unity march' from Farangipete to Mani on September 12 aimed at 'restoring peace and harmony' in the district.

Interestingly, the unity march is scheduled to be held just five days after the September 7 'Mangaluru Chalo' rally by the state BJP.

Addressing mediapersons here, Rai said, "The unity march will be followed by a public meet at Mani. BJP, Sangh Parivar, SDPI and PFI are excluded from this march as they are involved in several untoward incidents in the district. Dakshina Kannada has always been known for its peace and unity. People have been living here in harmony over the years, but a few incidents of violence in the last few months have maligned the reputation of the district.

"All incidents of violence were well planned. We can see two different groups in jail. The use of students in the name of religion should stop. Peace has to be restored in the district. Hence, we are organising ‘unity march’ on September 12. This was a demand from people which I assured to fulfill. During the meet, there will be no provocative speeches or slogans, but only placards calling for peace in the society,” he added.

When queried about the state government withdrawing cases registered against PFI members, Rai said, "In Dakshina Kannada, we have not withdrawn any cases related to PFI or SDPI. When BJP was in power, they had withdrawn criminal cases registered against PFI and SDPI members."

Answering a question related to the theft of sandalwood trees from the high security IGP bungalow, Rai said, "There is a certain department to trace down the missing sandalwood trees from the IGP’s bungalow. MP Nalin Kumar Kateel had passed some foolish and baseless comments that the stolen sandalwood trees are at my residence. For everybody’s information, Nalin Kumar Kateel’s residence is closer to the IGP’s bungalow than mine."

MCC chief whip Shashidhar Hegde, district Congress committee president Harish Kumar, Mamatha Gatty and others were present.