JOIN USMutalik 'faces' ire of protestors
The incident took place at Samsa Bayalu Rangamindira behind Ravindra Kalakshetra where a local television channel had organised a debate 'Prema Yuddha' inviting prominent speakers and students to air their opinion on Valentine's Day.
Nine persons, including Srinivas from Youth Congress, Bhavanishankar of Sri Ram Sena, Chethan and his associates were arrested following the incident.
Pramod Mutalik, Vimala K S, vice-president, Janawadi Mahila Sanghatane, Agni Sridhar and others had occupied the dais. All was well throughout the marathon debate but things turned ugly towards the end when a group of young men claiming to be Youth Congress workers barged on to the stage armed with bottles of grease and attacked Mutalik.
For a few minutes, things came to a standstill as the shocked organisers and the audience were taken aback. Thanks to the timely intervention of cops, who took control of the situation, the day was saved of further trouble.
Ugly scenes
While the youth took on Mutalik, a women’s rights activist, Vimala, was attacked on the other side. A Sene activist came close to her and spat at her. Within seconds, a few crew members and others pulled him aside and saved the woman from further embarrassment.
Vimala told Deccan Herald: “I have identified the accused and informed the police. The culprit is Bhavani Shankar, president of Sri Ram Sene, Bangalore wing. They can't tolerate a healthy debate. We are not against expressing love. We are against commercialisation of ‘expression’ in the name of Valentine’s Day. Corporates cashing in on the situation and making money in the name of Valentine’s Day is condemnable.
“At the same time, we are also opposing the Hindutva brigade's message not to celebrate Valentine’s Day and that it is against Hindu culture. When they can celebrate rakhi why not Valentine’s Day. We are of the opinion that Valentine’s Day is yet another day, don't convert it into a business module.
DH News Service