Business shuts down in Mangaluru, DK on day of Kerala CM's visit

 Normal life was affected on Saturday, when Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan addressed a rally here.

The RSS and the VHP had called a hartal, alleging he was instigating violence against their activists in his state. The protests affected Mangaluru and parts of Dakshina Kannada.

Private buses did not ply, but Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) buses operated as usual.

About 16 KSRTC and two private buses were vandalised, according to KSRTC Mangaluru Division Controller Viveka­nand Hegde.

The Kerala State Road Transport Corporation did not run its Kasaragod-Mangaluru buses.

Police said two Kerala government buses were vandalised at the border near Talapady on Friday night. Private buses dominate in the district, and people had difficulty reaching work. Some autos remained on the roads in Mangaluru.

A parked lorry was set on fire at Okkettur on the Vittal-Mangaluru road. Barring milk booths and medical shops, all other business establishments and hotels remained closed in Mangaluru. Banks remained closed as it was the fourth Saturday of the month.

Pinarayi slams RSS

In his public address at the Karavali Souharda Rally (‘coastal harmony rally’), organised by the Communist Party of India (Marxist), Vijayan lambasted the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. He said the organisation took inspiration from infamous dictators such as Mussollini and Hitler.

Though founded in 1925, the RSS stayed away from the freedom movement for 22 years, he said.

Ironically, when most organisations wanted to oust the British, the right wing leader Veer Savarkar was hobnobbing with them, he said.

Nathuram Godse was not just the killer of Mahatma Gandhi, but also a weapon in the hands of the right wing, Vijayan said. A large number of people took part in a rally prior to the address. Police had made elaborate security arrangements.

No hindrance to PU exam

With pre-university exams in progress, students were anxious about reaching the exam centres. Many parents dropped off their children in private vehicles. The Dakshina Kannada district administration had not postponed the exams. Of 17,315 students, 42 students were absent. Most private schools and all government schools functioned on Saturday, but attendance was thin, reports DHNS from Mangaluru.