Kanaka Nade': Action sought against Pejawar seer, Chakravarti Sulibele

Udupi, Oct 25: The Dalita-Damanitara Swabhimani Horata Samiti has urged the Udupi district administration to take legal action against organisers and participants of the controversialKanaka Nade' for violating the rules and glorifying casteism.

Shyamraj Birti, district convener of the samiti, who submitted a memorandum to Deputy Commissioner T Venkatesh, here on Monday, said that though the district administration had denied permission for theKanaka Nade', the Yuva Brigade organised it on public property and a launching ceremony was also held at the Car Street here on October 23.

He said that action should be taken not only against Chakravarti Sulibele of the Yuva Brigade, but also against Vishwesha Tirtha Swami of Paryaya Pejawar Mutt and Pramila Nesargi, BJP leader for participating in the event in violation of DC's order.

The samiti had withdrawn its ownSwabhimani Nade,' which it intended to hold on the same day after Superintendent of Police K.T. Balakrishna urged them to do so in the interest of maintaining law and order.

The Yuva Brigade had earlier said that they would clean all the streets of Udupi, which were “polluted” after the samiti had held aChalo Udupi' programme on October 9. TheKanaka Nade' was an extension of this programme, and amounted to practice of untouchability. Hence, a case under Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act should be booked against Mr. Sulibele.

Some leaders of the Udupi unit of Vishwa Hindu Parishad (Vilas Nayak), Bajrang Dal (Dinesh Mendon), Yuva Brigade (Vasudeva Bhat), the founder of Sri Rama Sene, Pramod Muthalik and former MLA, K. Raghupati Bhat, had given false statements that the samiti wanted to lay siege to the Sri Krishna Mutt/Temple.

The administration book a case against these individuals under the Goonda Act, the memorandum said. Mr. Venkatesh promised the office-bearers of the samiti that he would look into the demands made in the memorandum. Sundar Master, Vishwanath Pethri, samiti leaders, and G. Rajashekhar and K. Phaniraj, writers, were present.