Senior BJP leader Anwar Manippady decides to skip executive committee meet

Bengaluru: BJP’s senior Karnataka leader Anwar Manippady has decided not to attend the two-day state Executive Committee meeting being held in Hubballi.

“I am an invitee also. I am the Executive Committee member of the party. I just returned from Mangaluru and at the last moment, I thought I will not go (to the meeting) because the attitude of them is not welcoming for us to go there. So, I won’t go there,” Manipaddy was quoted speaking to IANS.

“I have written enough and I have passed on the message to the seniors of the party… they do not seem to be taking care. I am not bothered about being thrown out of the party. I have not come to politics to make money. I have been always an open person. I was never scared of anybody and in future also, I will be never scared of anybody,” he asserted.

Asked about the present BJP government in the state, he stated it has totally failed in the concept brought out by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “The concept of ‘Sab ka Saath, Sab ka Vikas’ is totally been neglected and not happening at all… such a good concept has gone. In fact, they are going against it by totally neglecting minorities, especially Muslims.”

“I have umpteen examples of how they are harassing the Muslim minority by denying their rights for a decent burial. The burials which have been functioning for 10 to 12 years in Goonadka, Sullia in Dakshina Kannada district and Parappana Agrahara in Bengaluru and other places, hooligans with the help of police goondas in Sahakarnagar stopped and locked up a functioning mosque,” he claimed.

“Everyone has got equal rights in this country. Sound pollution rules should apply to everyone. Why only mosques? In mosques, the maximum time taken for the offering of prayers is 15 minutes. There are some temples where kirtans/bhajans goes on from morning till evening. That’s bad. How do you expect harmony between majority and minority communities? On one hand, Prime Minister Modi is trying his best, in Karnataka successive regime of Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa and now Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai have done nothing about it,” he said.

Manipaddy also accused the state government of taking no action against encroachments of Wakf properties, despite the Supreme Court order to look into the report submitted to the government, and alleged the culprits have indulged in heavy bribery.

“It has been brought to notice of party seniors umpteen number of times. But, there is no use and they don’t even respond. Nothing substantial is happening. Karnataka is in a bad situation now. I think Karnataka people should wake themselves up and think of decent rule. This is such a rich and one of most developed state in the country, but we are going backwards and no progressive work has taken place at all,” he said.

He also said moral policing has going on for quite some time now.

(With inputs from IANS)