Pics: Spoorthi Ullal
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (SB)
Mangaluru, May 18: The district Congress on Saturday May 18 protested against BJP MP Nalin Kumar Kateel for tweeting in support of Mahatma Gandhi's killer Nathuram Godse, demanding not only his expulsion from the BJP, but also 'banishment' from India. The protest was held in front of Congress office at Mallikatte here.
Addressing the protesters, former minister Ramanath Rai said, "Over the past many days, the BJP leaders have been openly expressing their hostility towards Mahathma Gandhi. They are praising Nathuram Godse, the killer of Mahatma Gandhi, and are trying to project a terrorist as the nation's 'saviour'. It is condemnable. The persons who are praising Godse are directly supporting terrorism and working against the values of the Indian Constitution.
"By praising Nathuram Godse and Ajmal Kasab, our MP has brought shame to our district. With his statement supporting the terrorist Godse, he has defamed the name of Dakshina Kannada which is widely appreciated as a district of educated and intelligent people. He has directly insulted Mahatma Gandhi and all freedom fighters," Rai said.
"Nalin Kateel has openly expressed his anti-national views. He himself has proved that he does not believe in the Indian Constitution, the Indian freedom struggle and the culture of this soil. He has accepted Nathuram Godse and Kasab as his role models. So without delay, the government should banish him from India. If BJP believes in the Constitution and accepts Mahatma Gandhi, they should expel Nalin Kumar from the party immediately," he demanded.
Addressing the protesters, MLC Ivan D'Souza said, "BJP is full of anti-nationals. They do not believe in the Indian freedom struggle and Mahatma Gandhi. At the time of the freedom struggle itself they had shown their anti-national mentality by supporting the British government.
"Now BJP leaders Pragya Singh Thakur, Anant Kumar Hegde and Nalin Kumar Kateel have also started to support anti-nationals openly. For them Mahatma Gandhi is an instrument to create controversy. They are devoted to Nathuram Godse who killed the Mahatma. Godse was a terrorist and now the BJP leaders are praising him and trying to project him as a national leader. By doing so, they are clearly defaming our freedom fighters and insulting Mahatma Gandhi," he said.
"Nalin Kumar Kateel has fooled the people of Dakshina Kannada who voted for him for the past two terms. By backing Godse, he has tried to represent the people of Dakshina Kannada as anti-nationals too. He has brought us shame at the national and international levels. The people of Dakshina Kannada will not forgive him.
By supporting the Mahatma's killer he has become a villain in the minds of people. Now the entire nation is keenly waiting to see if his party expels him or not. If the party does not expel him, it means BJP too is directly supporting anti-national terrorists," Ivan said.
Former mayor Shashidhar Hegde, Asha D'Silva, Suresh Ballal and many district level leaders and party workers participated in the protest.
In his Twitter account, Nalin had compared former Prime Minister, the late Rajiv Gandhi, to Nathuram Godse, and terrorist, Azmal Kasab. The BJP has condemned the tweet by Nalin Kumar, as well as another pro-Godse tweet by union minister Anant Kumar Hegde. Both have been issued show-causes notices by BJP national president Amit Shah, and state president B S Yeddyurappa too termed them 'unforgivable'. Both Nalin and Hegde apologised and deleted the tweets and apologised, with the latter claiming that his Twitter account had been 'hacked'.