Veerabhadra Channamalla Swamy of Nidumamidi Mutt said here on Friday that Anantkumar Hegde, Pratap Simha and K.S. Eshwarappa were enough to defeat the Bharatiya Janata Party in Karnataka.
The seer was speaking at the second day event of Komu Souharda Vedike's 15th anniversary. “Neither Rahul Gandhi nor Siddaramaiah need to work hard to defeat the BJP, as Anantkumar Hegde, Pratap Simha and Eshwarappa are making it possible”, he said.
Secularism has been the basic principle of the Constitution. Those speaking about changing the Constitution never believed in secularism. The opinion expressed recently is not new, he said. The time has come for the all peace-loving people of the State decide whom to choose. “Should we choose those opposing the Constitution, reservation, social justice, equality? People should decide.”
He said peace loving people of all religions should come together. “All Hindus should oppose those disturbing harmony in the name of Hindutva; similarly all Muslims should oppose those who preach violence, whether it is ISIS or followers of Osama bin Laden.”
The seer opined that the demolition of Babri Masjid in 1992 gave birth to terrorism in India. “Before that, the violence was limited to Jammu and Kashmir. However, after the demolition of the Masjid, terrorism took birth in the country. Communalism and terrorism are two faces of the same coin,” he added.
Minister for Food and Civil Supplies U.T. Khader, former Minister B.T. Lalita Naik, activist Swarna Bhat, human rights activist Teesta Setalvad and others were present.
