Mangaluru, Aug 5: Janata Dal (Secular) leader S L Bhoje Gowda has sparked row by accusing the Congress party of ignoring Hindus in coastal Karnataka.
Speaking to media persons in the city, the MLC said that his party, under the leadership of chief minister H D Kumaraswamy, will not lose the trust of Hindus by following the path of Congress.
According to Mr Gowda, the main reason behind Congress’ debacle in coastal districts of Karnataka in 2018 assembly polls is neglecting Hindus. U T Khader was the only Congress candidate to win in 13 assembly seats of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts whereas BJP won remaining 12 seats.
Mr Gowda urged the Congress to introspect on why the majority community members voted for BJP in large numbers this time though they had dumped the saffron party in 2013 Karnataka assembly polls.
Stating that polarization of Hindu votes resulted in BJP emerging as a single largest party in the state, he said that various developments occurred during the five years of Congress rule under the leadership of then chief minister Siddaramaiah are responsible for such polarization.
“Hence we will not commit such mistakes. The JD(S) leaders have been asked to give priority to Hindus along with minority communities,” he said.
U T Khader’s response
The unexpected remarks of JD(S) leader has evoked strong response from Congress leader and Dakshina Kannada district in-charge minister U T Khader, who advised Mr Gowda to be cautious while talking about the coalition partner.
Mr Khader, who holds urban development and housing portfolios in H D Kumaraswamy-led JD(S)-Congress coalition government, said that Mr Gowda’s “irresponsible statement” would harm his own party.
“The allegation made against Congress that it sidelined Hindus is baseless. Congress is the enemy of communalism. It treats all communities equally and all communities vote for Congress,” he said adding that he would discuss the issue with senior leaders of his party.
The kidnapped schoolboy was rescued by the police and reunited with his parents. Son of a gift shop owner from Basavanagudi area in Bengaluru, Chirag has reportedly told police that decided to make some quick money to spend on cricket betting and gambling after learning kidnap tricks from the ‘Crime Patrol’. According to police, Chirag reached a private school around 3pm on Tuesday on a Bounce rental bike and zeroed in on a fourth standard student who was walking out of school. He told the boy he was his father's friend and that he required help to search for a relative who had gone missing. The boy believed Chirag and rode pillion on the bike. Chirag then engaged the boy in conversation and learnt about his father's business and got his mobile phone number. He then made a call to the boy's father, demanded Rs 5 lakh and warned him against approaching cops. However, the boy's father alerted Cottonpet police and special teams were formed to crack the case. While Cottonpet inspector Venkatesh TC's squad verified CCTV footage in and around the school, Chamarajpet inspector BG Kumaraswamy's team started tracking the suspect's mobile phone movements. An hour later, the suspect's location was traced to a hotel on the Lavelle Road-St Mark's Road stretch. Police rushed there, rescued the boy and arrested Chirag.
Comments
Muslims should rethink when voting this communal JDS.
After BJP and Congress, now JD(S) too is becoming a standard-bearer of Hindutva.
Apparent attempt by cunning family-led party to win a couple of seats in coastal Karnataka in future. But, it’s a futile bid. No future for JD(S) in DK, Udupi.
Bore Gowda has no other job. Who are those jobless idiots with him. There is no space for JDS in coastal karnatak.
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