Peace can be restored in Dakshina Kannada only if society discourages organisations that play politics over the dead, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said on Sunday.
Speaking at a programme to inaugurate several development programmes here, Mr. Siddaramaiah said the death of a person, irrespective of community, is a sad thing. People should not fall for efforts to politicise death and create unrest. He said with unrest, the progress of the State is affected. It was also difficult to maintain law and order in such situations.
Mr. Siddaramaiah said Dakshina Kannada, which has a good literacy level, should not be known as the laboratory of communal forces. Education should be for development of person and society and not to create enmity among communities. Everybody has the right to profess one’s religion. “We should be persons following religion (Dharma Paalakaru) and not those hating it (Dharma Dweshigalu),” he said.
BJP rapped
Criticising the BJP for its alleged efforts to whip up communal passion, Mr. Siddaramaiah said these organisations have not rightly understood the State anthem where it says that this State is the land of all communities. “It’s no use just to have pride in singing national and State anthems, they should know what our forefathers want us to follow,” he said.
Earlier, in Shivamogga, he blamed the BJP and Sangh Parivar for the communal tension prevailing in coastal Karnataka districts. Speaking to presspersons, he alleged that BJP was trying to play politics over “dead bodies” in coastal region. Referring to the death of Paresh Mesta in Honnavar and Deepak Rao near Mangaluru, he said BJP leaders tried to incite violence by issuing provocative statements in protest meets held to condemn the killings.Taunting the BJP for the slogan “Sab ka Saat, Sab ka Vikas”, Mr. Siddaramaiah said while the party was talking about development taking all communities together, it was actually promoting hatred. The police arrested 30 BJP activists, who attempted to raise black flags in Belthangady.
