Political blame game over DK strife

The Congress and the BJP on Monday indulged in mudslinging over the issue of communal violence in Dakshina Kannada district.

KPCC president G Parameshwara accused the BJP of being responsible for the communal violence, while the BJP leader in the Legislative Council K S Eshwarappa accused Chief Minister Siddaramaiah of indirectly supporting the violence to gain political mileage.

State BJP president B S Yeddyurappa is trying to politicise the issue by blaming the chief minister. Instead of making baseless charges, the BJP should take measures to control communal forces that are stirring violence in Dakshina Kannada. The chief minister has issued strict directions to the police to conduct an impartial probe into the killing of RSS worker Sharath Madiwala, the Congress leader claimed.

Eshwarappa said Siddaramaiah believes that communal violence leads to polarisation of votes and that the Muslims will vote for the Congress in the next elections. The chief minister has to resign from his post in order to restore peace in Dakshina Kannada. The government is shielding those who are attacking the RSS and the BJP workers. The law and order has collapsed. Siddaramaiah does not have moral right to continue in his post, he added.

In Mangaluru, Dakshina Kannada district in-charge minister B Ramanath Rai said provocative speeches by the BJP and Hindu outfit leaders had led to communal clashes in the district.

Addressing reporters at the District Congress Committee office in Mallikatta, the minister said that those who are unable to digest the achievements of the Congress government, have been raising a hue and cry over the failure of the law and order in the district.

He said a peace meeting will be convened at the deputy commissioner’s office on July 13, to come up with a solution for communal tension in the district. All elected representatives from the district will take part in the meeting.

Rai said he felt sad for the death of RSS worker Sharath Madiwala as he personally knew his family. Sharath was not involved in any criminal activities. “I have sympathies for his family. But, the BJP and the Hindu outfits tried to reap political benefits by carrying out Sharath’s funeral procession, which was followed by incidents of violence. We could have taken out funeral procession of Karopady gram panchayat vice president Jalil. But we did not do so as we didn’t want any untoward incident to happen.”