KPCC fact finding committee on DK murders to submit interim report next week

Mangaluru: The Karnataka Pradesha Congress Committee (KPCC) fact-finding committee on murders in Dakshina Kannada district will submit its interim report to the government in the next week, said committee chairman and Rajya Sabha member Syed Naseer Hussain, who is also the AICC general secretary.

Addressing mediapersons at the District Congress Committee office in Mangaluru on Friday, he stated that the committee has observed that the incident of recent murders in the district and the following unrest have resulted in communal polarisation, which need to be stopped.

The committee has visited people from all walks of life, from politicians to auto rickshaw drivers. Feedback has been gathered from various stakeholders.

The committee, through its report, will recommend the government to implement action to strengthen the administrative system further, in order to establish peace and harmony in the region.

The untoward incidents such as murder need to be condemned irrespective of political affiliations. There should not be a place for violence, he said.

Senior Congress leader and former Speaker of Legislative Assembly V R Sudarshan said that the committee has visited various places and has held discussions with political leaders, bureaucrats and religious leaders at length.

"Dakshina Kannada district, especially Mangaluru contributes immensely to the development of the state and the country. The district is a hub of education and banking and has been attracting tourists from all over. However, the unfortunate incidents are being given communal colour which is unfortunate", he said.

He further stated that such incidents involve only two per cent of miscreants and the rest of the people have no involvement whatsoever, as they bat for communal harmony. The district being used as the laboratory of communal tension needs to be condemned, he said, and appealed to the general public, religious leaders, and officials to handle their responsibilities without being biased during such incidents.

Sudarshan said that a visit to Udupi and Karwar districts by the fact-finding committee scheduled on June 9, 10 and 11 has been postponed. The team has decided to submit the interim report next week to the Chief Minister, Deputy Chief Minister, Home Minister, and Law Minister. Later, the committee will visit Dakshina Kannada district again before visiting other districts and submitting the final report.

'Do not generalise issues of personal vendetta'

Another veteran leader and former minister Jayaprakash Hegde said that the communal murders in the district are unfortunate. Political parties should be involved in the discussions related to development rather than fueling tensions by generalising incidents based on personal vendetta. Such incidents cannot be portrayed as a social issue. Creating confusion through social media by spreading hatred should also stop, he said.

Hegde further expressed his concern over Dakshina Kannada district losing its prominence due to communal incidents. The elected members represented all communities, he said, and urged the elected representatives from all political parties to stop glorifying the communal killings. Unrest in the district has been hampering the development of the district, he lamented and stressed on the need for a permanent solution to stop the unrest.

Former minister Kimmane Rathnakar said that communal riots have been making the lives of small vendors difficult. Media also needs to follow self-regulation while airing incidents of communal tension, and see to it things do not flare up, he opined.

MLC Ivan D'Souza, leaders R Padmaraj Poojary, Satyaprakash and Rakshit Shivaram were present in the press conference.