Secretary of the State unit of Karnataka Komu Sauharda Vedike (KKSV) K.L. Ashok said on Saturday that people of Udupi-Chikmagalur parliamentary constituency should see to it that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was defeated in the byelection.
Mr. Ashok told presspersons here that the people should not support the BJP, which was a communal party. Its policies were against the Dalits and farmers. “People should vote for any candidate who believed in secularism,” he said.
The three-and-a-half-year rule of the BJP had seen the death of two farmers in police firing in Haveri district. The BJP used the infamous “operation lotus” to entice MLAs from Opposition parties. Most of such MLAs later got elected using money power. Many of the Ministers in the BJP government were found involved in mining and land scams and had to resign.
The Supreme Court had passed strictures against the Speaker of the Legilsative Assembly for his partisan behaviour. Three Ministers were caught watching porn video in the Legislative Assembly when a serious discussion on drought was going on. They later resigned as Ministers, he said. The reason for the mysterious death of Padmapriya, wife of Udupi MLA K. Raghupati Bhat, in Delhi in June 2008 was not known. “The role of Mr. Bhat and BJP candidate for Udupi-Chikmagalur parliamentary constituency V. Sunil Kumar in the Padmapriya case needed a detailed investigation,” Mr. Ashok said. The BJP, which preached morality, had no compunction in organising a “rave party” at the St. Mary's Island near Udupi last month. The BJP wanted to convert the Baba Budangiri issue into another Ayodhya only to inflame communal passions and reap political benefits. Mr. Sunil Kumar was among those who had tried to inflame passions on the issue, Mr. Ashok said.
Office-bearers of KKSV Nagari Babayya, Kalkuli Vittal Hegde, William Martis, Ghous Mohiddin, G. Rajashekhar and Suresh Bhat Bakrabailu were present.
