Bharatiya Janata Party MLAs from the region will shortly call on Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and reiterate the need to ban Popular Front of India (PFI) and its political arm, Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI), said Mangaluru City North MLA Y. Bharath Shetty here on Tuesday.
Talking to reporters here, Dr. Shetty said that he and the other BJP MLAs from the region have in the past met Mr. Bommai several times when he was the Home Minister and spoken about the need to impose a ban on PFI and SDPI. “We will shortly meet Mr. Bommai and request him to fast track the process. There is a need to build a water-tight case against PFI and SDPI,” he said. The Union government has been building a dossier against PFI, he added.
Stalling the movement of Swatantrotsava Ratha of Kabaka Gram Panchayat on Sunday as a cut-out on the vehicle had the photo of Veer Savarkar, Dr. Shetty said, was nothing but an attempt to create communal tension in the area. All the seven BJP MLAs are committed to ensuring development of the district and they will not tolerate any attempt to disturb peace.
Asked why the issue of banning PFI is raised only after some incidents occur, Dr. Shetty said that banning an organisation is an ongoing process and the legislators of the region are closely following up the issue. Terming a statement of a member of a Hindutva organisation that the BJP has a tacit understanding with SDPI as a figment of one’s imagination, Dr. Shetty said that there is no reason for a national party to have a tie-up with fundamentalist forces.
Dr. Shetty criticised Mangaluru MLA U.T. Khader for speaking lightly about Veer Savarkar and said that the latter has not read history properly.
Earlier, Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal activists staged protest demonstrations in front of various police stations across the district demanding action against SDPI. Participating in one such protest in front of the Barke Police Station, Mangaluru City South MLA D. Vedavyas Kamath said that the State government is committed to taking effective action against fundamantalist forces.
