Bengaluru, Jan 30: Leaders and activists from across the country including freedom fighter H S Doreswamy and Gujarat MLA Jignesh Mewani, who got together in Bengaluru on Monday to mark the birthday of slain journactivist Gauri Lankesh, called upon all non-communal parties to unite and ensure that the BJP did not come to power in Karnataka.
Speaking at the 'Gauri Day' function at Town Hall, Doreswamy, chairperson of Gauri Lankesh Trust, urged parties to unite against the common enemy and not give an opportunity for Modi and BJP in Karnataka. Doreswamy also urged the state government to keep an eye on Dakshina Kannada district for Gauri's killers.
Actor Prakash Rai said that when people like Gauri die, many more voices are born to create one big voice of protest.
"Fascist forces never last long. Now, they are there for five years and they will try, with difficulty, to be around for another five years. But the wounds they leave behind could last for 20 years. To prevent such wounds, we should not restrict ourselves to speaking at such platforms, we should go out on to the streets," Rai said.
The event was addressed by Mewani, former JNU students' union president Kanhaiya Kumar, former vice-president Shehla Rashid, JNU student Umar Khalid, and Richa Singh, first woman president of the Allahabad Central University students' union. All of them, referred to as 'Gauri's children,' spoke against right-wing forces.
"RSS is a terrorist organisation. They made the first terrorist attack in India by assassinating Gandhi. And I don't hesitate to say that they murdered Gauri. The Sanatan Sanstha, responsible for the Goa blasts, is roaming around free. The Karni Sena ran amok and attacked children. How are these terrorist organisations getting impunity," Shehla asked.
Irom Sharmila, known worldover for her 16-year hunger strike against the Armed Forces Special Powers Act in Manipur, also took part in the event.
Newspaper
The Trust announced that they would bring out a newspaper to continue Gauri's brand of journalism on March 8, the birth anniversary of her father P Lankesh and the date when 'Gauri Lankesh Patrike' had been launched in 2005.
Doddipalya Narasimhamurthy, president of the Trust, said that so far the Trust had collected about Rs 6 lakh and they need at least Rs 1 crore to launch the paper.
Indrajit wants Centre’s agency
Meanwhile, Gauri Lankesh's brother Indrajit Lankesh, who had fought with her when she was alive, on Monday said that he would move the high court seeking that the investigation into her murder be handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
Speaking at a memorial service he organised for Gauri near her burial site in Chamarajpet, he said: "This is my personal opinion. I do not know what Kavitha Lankesh's (another sister) stance on this matter is. We all want to know the reason for her killing and the people behind it to get punishment," he said.
Indrajit said that when a sketch of the suspect was released, they were hoping that the case was moving forward. "I kept quiet all this while because my mother insisted. Not anymore," he said.
He alleged that the Siddaramaih government was not giving the Special Investigation Team (SIT) freedom to investigate.
Indrajit also alleged that the government had organised the protests against Gauri's killing, held immediately after the incident and even the event on Monday was sponsored by them. He alleged that Dinesh Amin Mattu, the chief minister's media advisor was at the helm of it.
Indrajit alleged that the flight tickets for Gujarat MLA Jignesh Mevani and Kanhaiya Kumar were also sponsored by the government.
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