BJP glorifying Suhas’s murder despite his criminal background: Bhandary

Mangaluru: KPCC working president Manjunath Bhandary accused the BJP of glorifying Suhas Shetty as a Hindutva leader, despite his criminal background, for the sake of political gains. He questioned the BJP on whether Keerthi, who was allegedly murdered by Suhas Shetty, was not considered a Hindu, just because he belonged to the Dalit community? Noting that it was the BJP govt that opened a rowdy-sheet against Suhas Shetty, Bhandary questioned the logic of glorifying him as a Hindutva activist.He urged the BJP not to engage in divisive politics and communal provocation and called for a united effort for the development of Dakshina Kannada district."There were five criminal charges filed against Suhas Shetty. Why did the BJP remain silent on the killing of Keerthi, who belonged to the Dalit community? Everyone must denounce such killings and demand an unbiased investigation to ensure justice for the victim and strict punishment for the perpetrators. Exploiting murder cases for communal instigation and political advantage deserves condemnation," Bhandary told reporters here on Monday.Strongly criticising the declaration made by Pejwar Mutt pontiff Sri Vishwaprasanna Tirtha Swami regarding the lack of safety for Hindus in Hindustan and Hindu youths in Karnataka, Bhandary questioned the logic behind such claims. He challenged the statement by pointing out that Hindus constitute 85% of the country's population and questioned whether such a vast majority could be considered unsafe. Furthermore, he asked if the seer would demand resignations from the Prime Minister, Union home minister, and defence minister, all of whom belong to the Hindu community.He recalled how the previous seer of Pejawar Mutt, Sri Vishwesha Tirtha Swami, lauded the Muslim community for helping the mutt. "The senior pontiff even hosted an iftar gathering inside the mutt and later justified it too. However, the present seer is engaged in politics. Let him uphold the dignity of the Mutt," Bhandary said. He mentioned that a delegation of the Congress will meet the commissioner of police and superintendent of police to seek stringent action against those who post provocative messages and those who forward the same on social media.‘HM did not meet Muslim leaders'To a query, Bhandary clarified that home minister G Parameshwara did not hold a meeting with Muslim leaders during his visit to Mangaluru to assess the law and order situation. "During our gathering at the Circuit House, a delegation comprising 30 to 40 leaders arrived to meet the home minister. Due to space constraints in the room, I advised the leaders to convene with the minister at a hall within the Circuit House. The minister did not conduct any formal meeting with the delegation," Bhandary said and added, "If BJP MLAs were genuinely concerned about the district, they should have also attended the meeting with the home minister."