JOIN USDakshina Kannada district BJP spokesperson Jithendra Kottari and BJP leader Harikrishna Bantwal said that District In-charge Minister B Ramanath Rai's harmony walk is not to restore communal harmony in Dakshina Kannada district.
Instead, it is an election campaign, insist the BJP leaders.
Briefing reporters on Tuesday, Kottari pointed out that Muslim organisations and some political parties have not extended their support to the harmony walk led by Ramanath Rai. "Over the last four and a half years, communal harmony in Dakshina Kannada has been disrupted in the name of illegal transportation and slaughter of cattle and also in the name of Love jihad. However, Rai did not issue any statements against these two issues so far. Nor has any strict action been taken against those involved in illegal transportation of cattle," he said.
Harikrishna Bantwal said, "The vote bank politics of Ramanath Rai has caused disruption in communal harmony in the district. The BJP and Sangh Parivar are not anti-Muslims. The day the people of the district reject Ramanath Rai, peace and harmony will prevail in the district."
He termed the harmony walk by Ramanath Rai a flop show with hardly 500 people participating in it. "It is not a harmony walk but a walk of guilty consciousness. By using the photo of Swami Vivekananda, Narayana Guru and Abdul Kalam as flexes, Rai has insulted them," Bantwal added.
'Kids denied food'
Harikrishna Bantwal also released documents to prove that it was at the behest of Rai that the state government has withdrawn financial grant, given through the Kollur Mookambika Temple, to two government-aided private schools in Bantwal taluk. He said that Rai wrote to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on May 5, 2017 that the Department of Religious Endowment and Muzrai had released Rs 37 lakh in 2015-16 and Rs 56 lakh in 2016-17 to these two schools. The release of grants for only two schools is against the interest of general public, Rai had added.
Bantwal said that the claims of Ramanath Rai on releasing financial grant for only two private schools is wrong as Kateel and other temples in the district have been supplying food for private and aided schools in the district.