G. Parameshwara, president of Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC), said on Friday that incidents of moral policing and communal disharmony had increased in the coastal districts ever since the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government came to power in 2008.
He was speaking at the valedictory of the four-day “padayatra” of the Congress titled “Congress Nadige Samarasyada Kadege”, which culminated at Malpe, here.
Mr. Parameshwara said the coastal districts were once known for peace and communal harmony. But in the last four years of BJP rule, they had completely destroyed communal harmony in these districts. The BJP was inflaming religious passions.
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The activists of Sangh Parivar outfits such as Bajrang Dal routinely indulged in moral policing. Due to this, the youth in the coastal districts could not even have tea or coffee in peace at restaurants or travel together on buses or cars. A couple of days ago, the activists of the Bajrang Dal had harassed seven youths at an ice cream parlour in Mangalore for “uncultured behaviour”. “Who has given the Bajrang Dal the authority to harass the youth? They cannot take law into their own hands”, he said.
When S.M. Krishna was the Chief Minister, the Congress had launched the mid-day meal scheme and the Stree Shakti scheme. The mid-day meal scheme was benefiting 60 lakh students in the State. The Stree Shakti scheme had empowered women’s self-help groups (SHGs) by granting loans to them. As a result, women became financially independent.
“Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar should resign and recommend the dissolution of the Assembly. Let the people of the State decide who they want in power. The Congress will definitely come to power in the State”, Mr. Parameshwara said.
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Siddaramaiah, Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Assembly, said that rampant corruption and communal disharmony were the only two achievements of the BJP government.
After the BJP came to power in 2008, there had been attacks on churches and communal flare-ups in different parts of the State. Ever since Congress party’s “padayatra” began four days ago from Ullal, there had been two icases of moral policing, he said.
In coma
Mr. Siddaramaiah said in Kaup that the entire administrative machinery was in a state of coma in Karnataka.
He said the constant infighting within the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had seen it getting divided into three parts. If the Congress were to win the next Assembly elections, it would take two years for it to set right the wrongs done by the BJP in the last four years.