Mangaluru strife: Revoke FIRs, externment orders of Hindu activists or face consequences, BJP warns K'taka govt

Bengaluru, June 2 (IANS) The BJP's Karnataka unit has warned the state government and asked it to revoke the FIRs and externment orders issued to some Hindu activists in Mangaluru district or be prepared to face consequences.

BJP state President, B.Y. Vijayendra claimed on Monday, "By siding with one particular community, the police and the government are disrupting social harmony of the coastal region, pushing Mangaluru and Udupi districts into a state of fear."

"We warn the government: Withdraw the FIRs registered against more than 15 prominent Hindu leaders, including senior activist Kalladka Prabhakar Bhat, and revoke the externment orders immediately," Vijayendra stated.

"Otherwise, the government alone will be held responsible for the consequences," Vijayendra threatened.

"The Congress, notorious for imposing the Emergency, is now attempting to remind the people of it once again in the coastal region by intimidating Hindu leaders and BJP's activists," Vijayendra claimed.

"Since coming to power, the Karnataka government has been constantly standing in support of those involved in destructive acts in a bid to appease the Muslim community and secure its vote bank," he alleged.

The government has decided to withdraw cases filed against anti-social elements who attacked police stations and just recently, the High Court rebuked the government on this matter, he noted.

Recently, in the case of the murder of a Muslim truck driver in Mangaluru, members of the Muslim community collectively pressured the government and the Mangaluru Police Commissioner and the District Superintendent were transferred within 24 hours, Vijayendra stated.

Today, FIRs have been registered against more than 15 activists, including senior leader Kalladka Prabhakar Bhat. The police are raiding the houses of BJP and Hindu activists, creating an atmosphere of fear—this is a highly condemnable act, Vijayendra slammed.

Following a series of revenge murders, multiple stabbing and mob lynching incidents in both the communities, the state government has announced that it will initiate a special exercise to curb the communal strife in the region.

The minority leaders of the Congress party in Mangaluru district had submitted mass resignations to the party alleging that the state government had failed to protect them.

--IANS

mka/rad