Taking serious objection to BJP MP Pratap Simha’s allegedly provocative statements that threaten communal peace in the society, Mysuru District Congress Committee has urged Deputy Commissioner of Mysuru Bagadi Gautham to immediately take action against the MP.
A delegation of Congress leaders met the Deputy Commissioner on Tuesday and lodged a complaint against Mr. Simha.
Reminding the DC of the MP’s ‘communally inflammatory’ utterances at a recent Karnataka Development Programme (KDP) meeting at the Mysuru Zilla Panchayat auditorium in the presence of Minister in charge of the district S.T. Somashekar and MLAs, the Mysuru District Congress leaders said the MP and the district administration should be held responsible in the event of communal violence breaking out.
The Congress leaders have taken serious note of Mr. Simha’s reported warning of serious consequences if DC of Mysuru did not act against a dargah on the footpath of D. Devaraj Urs Road and a mosque on Irwin Road.
In the complaint, Mysuru District Congress Committee president B.J. Vijaykumar and Mysuru City Congress Committee president R. Murthy clarified that the matter relating to the dargah on D. Devaraj Urs Road, compound of the mosque on Irwin Road and other temples was pending before the High Court and Supreme Court.
The Congress has also clarified that it was not against the removal of places of worship like temples, mosques and churches that had come up in illegally in public places after taking the local leaders into confidence as per the directions of the Supreme Court.
The MP, instead of discussing development issues at the KDP meeting, resorted to raking up issues that allegedly provoke religious sentiments and pit one community against another while reportedly threatening the Deputy Commissioner of dire consequences, all which is a ‘unpardonable crime’, stated the complaint by the Congress.
Pointing out that all the 140 crore people living in India enjoyed equal rights under the Indian Constitution, the Congress complaint said the MP’s act of discriminating people on religious lines - Hindus, Muslims and Christians – was against law.
The Congress leaders said the BJP should be held responsible for any damage caused to temples, mosques or churches anywhere in the country. Hence, the Congress has demanded protection to all places of worship and immediate action against the MP for trying to disrupt communal harmony.
Apart from Mr .Vijaykumar and Mr. Murthy, the delegation of Congress leaders comprised former MLAs M.K. Somashekar and Kalale Keshavamurthy, besides KPCC spokespersons M. Lakshmana, H.A. Venkatesh and Manjula Manasa, besides Congress leader from K.R. Nagar D Ravishankar.
