Moral policing: 'Impose President's rule in K'taka'

Mangalore, August 11: The homestay attack and the developments that have followed in the aftermath have proved that there is a breakdown of the constitutional machinery in the state and hence Governor H R Bharadwaj must dismiss the government and impose President's rule, said Prof. Ravivarma Kumar, former Chairman of the Backward Classes Commission, Karnataka and senior advocate.

Speaking at an interaction programme held in Mangalore on the issue of moral policing and culture on Saturday, Prof. Kumar said that C Manjula, the chief of State Women's Rights Commission and the state government in general are acting like the agents of the culprits of the homestay attack. “Ms Manjula has in her report spoken about students consuming drugs at the party, which the police themselves have not spoken of. Cases of defamation must be slapped against her for her remarks. The state government is resorting to Hitler's method of legitimizing crime. The state government has in the past too let culprits of Amnesia pub attacks roam free and in spite of constant attacks on churches and mosques, the culprits are not brought to book. The state government has even been taking back cases booked against culprits without justification when in fact the Supreme Court has in an order said that government cannot take back cases even under pressure”, he said.

The Hindu community itself needs to stand up and send a message to organisations such as the Hindu Jagarana Vedike that it does not need them, he said.

B T Lalitanayak, writer, said that there is a need to spread 'Gandhigiri' rather than 'Goondagiri'. Quoting Kuvempu, she said Puranas were written ages ago and hence one should listen to what one's conscience in today's age to decide good and bad. Nobody has the right to tell the youth of today how they should be dressing and living their life, she said.

Taranath Shetty, advocate and former President of Mangalore Bar Council, said that the state government is acting in favour of the culprits to such an extent that they have dared to file an affidavit stating that they do not have the confidence in the district magistrate accusing one of the Lokayukta police officers of influencing the court. If such investigation continues, in all likelihood the culprits would come out clean, he said.

Kripa Amar Alva, advisory board member in the Airport Authority of India, said that she had experienced the inaction of police back in 1992 when her husband Amar Alva was murdered in spite of police patrol.

Mother of Gurudutt Kamath, one of the victims of the homestay attack, lashed out at C Manjula for laying allegations of trafficking against her terming them baseless. Her family has been going through a tough time ever since the attacks, as she has been receiving several phone calls, she said.

Prakash, from Puttur said that he was part of the saffron movements in his college days and warned the students of growing saffron influence in college campuses stating that they are mere political agendas. The insterility shown by Mangaloreans over the years to the activities of the saffron groups have resulted in incidents like the homestay attack, he said.

Responding to a query, Prof. Kumar said that although it is good to see anger in citizens on the issue, one must not resort to hatred. The fight has to be carried out in a constitutional manner and taking law into own hands must be refrained from, he said. If citizens take law into their own hands, there will not be any difference between them and the goons of the attacks and it will also work in their advantage, he said.