Hours after announcing protest meeting, Samiti puts off event

Hindu Hitarakshana Samiti has postponed its mammoth protest meeting, scheduled to be at B C Road Junction on June 20, to June 22.

The Samiti had earlier planned to hold the protest meeting though the district administration clamped prohibitory orders under IPC Section 144 in the district (except Mangaluru police commissonerate limits) till June 21 midnight.

According to a press release issued by samiti convener Harish Punja on Thursday evening, the protest meeting has been postponed to respect the law of the land.

Earlier at a joint media briefing on Thursday, Samiti conveners Harish Punja and Ravijraj had announced that the meeting will be held on June 20 at 10 am at taluk office premises and about 25,000 people from across the state are expected turn up.

The meeting has been planned to condemn the recurring attempts to terrorise a particular community on the lines of Kashmir, which was evident with the recent incident at Kalladka, where people belonging to a particular community attacked another with the ulterior motive of creating a havoc, they said.

Hindu Jagarana Vedike district unit president Ratnakar Shetty was also attacked during the clash. Most importantly, the meeting is against the nonchalant attitude of the district in-charge minister and other legislators, who have been fomenting such deleterious activities, he claimed.

The police have also turned a blind eye and have been instead targeting the Right wing leaders. About 800 leaders have been given notices under Sections 108 and 109 seeking surety bonds against resorting to violence in the event of any such incidents, he said.

Police blamed
Reacting to a particular query on whether the police have issued permission for the protest meeting, the leaders dared to go ahead with their plans, irrespective of whether the police give consent or not.
They blamed the police for deliberately extending the prohibitory orders that was earlier issued up to June 19, only to thwart the plans of the Samiti.