BELAGAVI: Legislative council members, cutting across party lines, raised their voice against the miscreants, who insulted Kannada flag and vadolised Sangolli Rayanna statue and defiled portrait of Lord Basaveshwara. The state government also warned of registering Goonda act against the miscreants.
Demanding strict action against the miscreants, opposition parties Congress and JD(S) members urged the chairman Basavaraj Horatti to allow discussion about ongoing incidents over the language, flag and defaming the historical heroes. Supporting the cause, around 16 members of the house from all three parties joined discussions.
JD(S) MLC K T Srikantegowda urged the government to ban Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti (MES) from the state, externment of the miscreants and to withdraw attempt to murder case registered against the accused who thrown black ink on MES leader. He also said the state government registered bailable cases against the MES miscreants who vandalised Rayanna statue, and registered murder case who threw ink on MES leader.
Congress party members including leader of opposition S R Patil, B K Hariprasad and other leaders alleged the state government failed to handle the issue, therefore another such incident of defiling portrait of Lord Basaveshwara took place on Monday morning at a village in Khanapur taluk. They termed it as failure of government and failure of intelligence.
BJP nominated member Talwar Sabanna said the education institutes in Belagavi district that take aid from the Karnataka government are acting against Kannada and Karnataka. The state government should act against those directly or indirectly acting against the state.
Another member Maritibbegowda demanded an amendment to the present act to act strictly against the anti-Kannada miscreants, the organisations should get permission before installing statues of national leaders, to include the stories of national leaders like Rayanna in textbooks, and to come up with a museum of statues.
The home minister Araga Jnanendra said the government is strictly acting against the miscreants and they have arrested 38 in Belagavi in this connection and searching for the absconded miscreants. Alleging the answer of home minister is not satisfying and home minister is not able to control such incidents as a result people are losing faith in the unfit home minister, both Congress and JD(S) members walked out of the house.
Despite the walkout of the opposition parties members, home minister Jnanendra said the government will think over the withdrawing case against the Kannada activist who threw ink on MES leader. He also said the government will consider the advice of giving permission to install statues of national leaders. “There is no question of compromising with those who defame Kannada, the government will book Goonda act against the miscreants”, he said.