The Hindu : Apologise for remark, Gowda urged

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Sep 17, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Karnataka

Apologise for remark, Gowda urged

By Our Staff Correspondent

BIJAPUR SEPT. 16. Members of the BJP and other Sangha Parivar outfits on Tuesday burned an effigy of the former Prime Minister, H.D. Deve Gowda, protesting against his alleged remark that Lingayats and Vokkaligas eat beef.Before burning the effigy at Gandhi Chowk here, the protesters took out a march from Siddarameshwar Temple. They raised slogans against Mr. Gowda.

The councillors, Sudhatayi Pande, Rajashekhar Magimath, Ashok Nyamgonda, and Ravi Bagali, the BJP district and city unit functionaries, Vithal Katakdonda, Shivanand Kallur, Srikant Zalki, and Appu Pattanashetti, condemned the alleged remark of Mr. Gowda.

They said cows and oxen were sacred to Lingayats and Vokkaligas. If Mr. Gowda did not tender an unconditional apology, they would not allow him to visit Bijapur, they warned.

Mr. Gowda had denied that he made the remarks attributed to him in a section of the Press. However, a TV channel aired the video footage showing Mr. Gowda allegedly making the remark. The protesters challenged Mr. Gowda to sue the publication and the TV channel that publicised his alleged remark.

They alleged that the JD(S) leader was trying to take advantage of the controversy by blaming the BJP but he could not fool the public. The issue was that he had hurt the sentiments of the two communities. Whether the BJP was trying to exploit the situation was a secondary issue. Our Bidar Staff Correspondent writes: The Bidar unit of Basava Kendra has sought an unconditional apology from Mr. Gowda. "Mr. Gowda might have sacrificed animals in the past to become the Prime Minister. But he should not assume that Lingayats are as cruel as him," Sharanappa Mithare, kendra president, said in a release.

Our Hassan Staff Correspondent writes:

Veerashaivas, Vokkaligas, and activists of the BJP taluk unit took out a protest march in Hassan on Tuesday against the reported statement of Mr. Gowda. The march was organised by the district unit of Veerashiva Sangha. The protesters, led by the sangha president, Rudrashetty, passed through the main thoroughfares in the city and burned an effigy of Mr. Gowda at Narasimharaja Square.

The JD(S) MLC, Kari Gowda, the Sakleshpur MLA, B.B. Shivappa, the CMC President, Channaveerappa, the Chairman of Hassan Urban Development Authority, B.K. Manjunath, and Jayadeva Swamiji and Mallikarjuna Swamiji took part in the march.

Our Chamarajanagar Correspondent writes:

The district unit of the All-India Veerashaiva Mahasabha has demanded a public apology from Mr. Gowda.

The sabha members took out a protest march in Chamarajanagar on Monday and burned an effigy of Mr. Gowda at Bhuvaneshwari Circle.

They said if he failed to apologise, they would stage a black-flag demonstration at Gundlupet during his visit here on Friday.

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Apologise for remark, Gowda urged