Flare-up of communal issues: Bommai says govt won't tolerate if people take law into their hands

Udupi: Amidst flare-up of communal issues, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Monday said his administration has sent out a clear message that it will not tolerate if people take law into their hands and resort to violence, as maintenance of law and order is its priority.

He also hit out at the previous Congress regime for dropping cases against people belonging to certain organizations directly involved in murders that had resulted in communal flareup in the past.

”My actions are speaking, our (govt’s) actions are speaking. We should not speak, our work should speak. In what situation, what decision has to be taken, what action is required, we are taking it, we need not learn from them,” Bommai said in response to opposition questioning his ”silence” over recent incidents with communal overtones.

”When they (Congress) were in power, at the government level they took the decision on dropping cases against people linked to organizations, who were directly accused of several murders. Where was their sense of duty then? We need not learn from them. We know how to maintain peace and order in our state, which is progressive. We are doing it,” he said in the coastal district headquarters town of Udupi.

Alleging that during Siddaramaiah’s tenure as the Chief Minister, murders of several Hindu youths took place, Bommai said, the then Congress government had withdrawn cases against the organizations involved. ”…had he (Siddaramaiah) lost his mind then?” Asked whether such organizations will be banned now, he said it will be known in the days to come.

There have been a series of communal issues that have rocked the state in the past few months. It started with the hijab row, followed by calls to ban Muslim traders from Hindu religious fairs, and then a campaign to boycott halal meat and shut down loudspeakers at mosques. Replying to a question, the Chief Minister said, let people analyze the recent developments in whatever they want, but his government has been formed in accordance with the Constitution and is working with the idea that everyone is equal and the priority is towards maintaining peace and order in the state.

”People have the right to propagate their thoughts, but we have sent a clear message that the government will not tolerate if people take the law into their hands and resort to violence,” he said.

Queried about some right-wing organizations creating a ”Hindu taskforce” against ”love jihad”, he said, ”….people are doing certain things for their protection, but there is a law for everything, a few of them were enacted by previous governments; we are not doing anything new. Everything has to happen in accordance with law and ensuring it is our responsibility.”

The Chief Minister is in Udupi to participate in the launch of various developmental works and will be taking part in party organization-related meetings in Mangaluru tomorrow.

Earlier speaking in Bengaluru, Bommai, responding to a question on Congress’ protest regarding price rise, said the opposition party has no moral right to protest.