Southern States - Karnataka   

JD(S), Left parties call for peaceful Urus

By Our Special Correspondent

Bangalore Nov. 25. The Janata Dal (Secular), the Communist Party of India (CPI), and the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) have urged the State Government to exhibit political will to defeat the efforts of the Sangh Parivar to misuse the Datta Jayanthi celebrations at Bababudangiri in Chikmagalur district.

The leaders of the three parties told presspersons here on Tuesday that the Government should caution the local police and other officials against the "communal goondas" expected to be deployed during the celebrations by the Sangh Parivar, particularly its constituents such as the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Bajrang Dal. Those who addressed the press were the Secretary-General of the JD(S), C. Narayanaswamy, the Vice-President of the JD(S), A.K. Subbaiah, the CPI(M) State Secretary, G.N. Nagaraj, and the Secretary of the CPI, Siddana Gowda Patil.

They said: "It is necessary to see that the Urus, which has been celebrated traditionally, is held peacefully. The Government should implement the court order to maintain status quo and prevent any illegal congregation in the name of Datta Jayanthi, installation of Datta idol, and so on. We support the programmes of all secular and progressive organisations in this connection. Even when the situation is getting worse, the Government is hesitant to take a determined stand at Bababudangiri."

Mr. Narayanaswamy said the Sangh Parivar had been attempting to turn Karnataka into another Gujarat. "A new cult of wearing Datta Mala has been cunningly introduced to inject communal hatred in the minds of innocent youth and communal clashes are being engineered in different parts of the State by misleading the common people," he added.

After the Hubli Idgah maidan issue was resolved, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had now turned its attention to Bababudangiri with the sole aim of gaining political mileage. The President of the BJP State unit, H.N. Ananth Kumar, recently stated that his party would fight to liberate the Datta Peetha, which he termed the "Ayodhya of South India". "The BJP is now in despair with some of its legislators walking out of the party and others unlikely to retain their seats in the coming elections. It is, therefore, depending on communal polarisation and every effort is being made to create fear among the minorities," he said.

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