Congress fumes over Hegde’s ‘Marikamba Habba’ remark

He is unfit to be MP or Union Minister, says a miffed Ramalinga Reddy

Union Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Anantkumar Hegde.

Blaming the Congress for the alleged murder of teenager Paresh Mesta and the subsequent law and order situation in several parts of Uttara Kannada district, Union Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Anantkumar Hegde has warned that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah should be ready for a “bigger Marikamba Habba”, an apparent reference to a pitched fight in the days to come.

Marikamba Habba is a famous annual event in March at Marikamba temple, Sirsi. Elections are expected to be held in March-April in Karnataka next year. The district, which is represented by Mr. Hegde, has witnessed a series of violent incidents and protests after Mesta’s death in Honnavar.

Diatribe against CM

On Friday, Mr. Hegde, in his Facebook post, lashed out at the Chief Minister, Home Minister Ramalinga Reddy and Inspector-General of Police (Western Range) Hemant Nimbalkar — who has been camping in the town for the last few days to oversee the law and order situation — for booking cases against “innocent people” in Sirsi, Honnavar, and other parts of the district.

The Sirsi court on Thursday granted interim bail to 62 people, a day after their arrest in connection with the violence. Tweeting in response to this, Mr. Hegde called it “a slap on the face of police”. The five-time MP claimed “days are not far where your [CM’s] close aides will ditch you in the middle of the water”. The Minister said Mr. Ramalinga Reddy is “unfit” to hold the Home portfolio.

This drew a sharp response from the Congress. Mr. Reddy shot back with a counter-tweet, “Mr. Hegde is unfit to be a Union Minister. Let people decide, let him first learn to live like a human being with communal harmony.”

It is the responsibility of the State government to provide security to citizens, and the government will not shrink from such a job, Mr. Reddy said. “Unlike yours, our policy is not to divide and rule. We treat all human beings equally,” Mr. Reddy added. The people would teach a fitting lesson to you (BJP) for politicising the death of the teenager. “You people indulge in violence as per the directions of your party president [Amit Shah]. The people will teach you a lesson.”

The State government has taken all steps to maintain communal harmony and peace in the district, the Home Minister assured in his tweets, adding that the government had also sought a CBI probe into the case.

The government has ordered a CBI probe into the death of Mesta. However, the BJP has decided to hold a rally in the district next week seeking justice to the family of Mesta.