The Hindu : Karnataka News : ‘Curb the growth of fascist tendencies’

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Nov 26, 2007
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Karnataka

Karnataka

‘Curb the growth of fascist tendencies’

Special Correspondent

Weakening secular foundation will do no good to society, says B.K. Chandrashekar

— Photo: V. Sreenivasa Murthy

Felicitation: Chairman of the Legislative Council B.K. Chandrashekar being presented the Rotary Vocational Excellence 2007 Award at a function in Bangalore on Sunday.

Bangalore: Chairman of the Legislative Council B.K. Chandrashekar on Sunday expressed concern over conducting “homa” and “havana” in the Vidhana Soudha and the threat to the life of the Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen, which were signs of the growing fascist tendency in the country.

Felicitation

Replying to the felicitation by the Rotary Bangalore Knowledge City (RBKC), Prof. Chandrashekar said the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) was charging an exorbitant compounding fee from the poor under the “Sakrama” scheme and the BBMP had failed in maintaining cleanliness, roads, footpaths and streetlights in the city.

Prof. Chandrashekar appealed to eminent citizens of Bangalore to raise their voice on such issues.

He also said that non-governmental organisations such as Rotary Club should mobilise public opinion on issues concerning the well-being of people.

Meeting

Prof. Chandrashekar said he was convening a meeting of BBMP officials and NGOs in a couple of days to find a solution to the problem.

Prof. Chandrashekar said that some fundamentalist elements were hounding Ms. Nasrin.

Some people, including a few legislators in Hyderabad, had called for her beheading. But, barring people like Girish Karnad, G.K. Govinda Rao, Marulasiddappa and himself, there was no public outcry against the treatment to the writer, he said.

Politicians, he said, should also respond to people’s issues and be busy with power politics always.

Prof. Chandrashekar warned that weakening the secular and democratic foundations by conducting religious activities and attacking writers did not augur well for the civil society.

The Chairman of the Legislative Council commended the service rendered by the Rotary Club to society.

H. Rajendra Rai, Rotary District Governor, G.C. Chandrashekar, president of RBKC, and other Rotarians felicitated Prof. Chandrashekar by presenting him the Rotary Vocational Excellence 2007 Award.

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