Karnataka - Mysore   

Vishwanath blames BJP leaders for violence

A.H. Vishwanath

MYSORE: Accusing leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for instigating communal passions by issuing “whimsical” statements, Mysore MP Adaguru H. Vishwanath appealed to the BJP leaders to restrain themselves and allow peace and harmony to settle in the disturbed area. Addressing presspersons here on Saturday, Mr. Vishwanath said that it was important for the leaders to console those affected by the violence and defuse the situation by taking up work on rebuilding the lives of those who had suffered in the violence that began on July 2.

Taking serious exception to the “conspiracy” theory propagated by district in-charge Minister Shobha Karandlaje, Mr. Vishwanath said that it was necessary for those in responsible positions to issue ‘mature’ statements when the situation was volatile.

He said it was significant that Ms. Karandlaje had recently attributed the violence to conspiracy by some vested interests to bring a bad name to the BJP government. Mr. Vishwanath challenged Ms. Karandlaje to hold an ‘impartial’ inquiry into the violent incidents in case she was confident about her “conspiracy” theory.

Criticising State BJP president D.V. Sadananda Gowda for demanding a ban on the Popular Front of India (PFI) and Karnataka Forum for Dignity (KFD), Mr. Vishwanath sought to know whether it was necessary for Mr. Gowda to issue such statements, which would only instigate communal passions. “It is not that easy to ban an organisation in the absence of sufficient evidence to prove their connivance in anti-national activities. Nobody can speak of banning an association based on hearsay, and acknowledging things with a prejudiced mind,” he said.

When asked whether he supported the PFI and the KFD, he said that he neither supports minority fundamentalism nor majority fundamentalism. His basic concern was to see that people had a decent and peaceful lifestyle.

Similarly, describing the statement made by Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa in the Legislative Assembly on writing about the Mysore incident to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, he wanted to know why there was a need to write about the incident to the Prime Minister.

“Is it because Mr. Yeddyurappa has reached the conclusion that his government is not in a position to contain forces that are fanning communal passions?” he asked.

Regretting the accusations made by MLA of Chamaraja Assembly segment, Shankarlinge Gowda, against Narasimharaja segment MLA, Tanveer Sait, he said that such statements would only worsen the situation instead of improving it.

Holding socioeconomic backwardness of the area for the recent violence, he said that there was an urgent need for the government to pump in funds to improve the conditions of the people, without any bias. “People have lost confidence in the government and the administration. Confidence-building exercises should be taken up on a priority,” he added.

Taking the government to task for summoning senior officials of the district administration for a meeting convened in connection with the Dasara festival, he wondered why there was a need to call the Deputy Commissioner and Police Commissioner to Bangalore when the situation in the city was so volatile. “Had they been in Mysore, the incident would not have occurred,” he said.

Mr. Vishwanath took exception to not being invited along with other people’s representatives of Mysore for the meeting convened to discuss preparations for Dasara festival. He said that despite being the MP of Mysore, he had not been invited to the meeting.

“They even neglected to invite Varuna MLA and leader of the Opposition in the State Assembly Siddaramaiah and former Union Minister and Nanjangud MLA V. Srinivasa Prasad,” he said. He also criticised Deputy Commissioner P. Manivannan for not inviting him to the meeting convened to discuss preparations for Dasara.

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