Cong, BJP believe in dividing people on communal lines'

Mangalore, Feb 2: Highlighting the increasingly evident communal disharmony among communities in the region, state President of Janata Dal (Secular) H D Kumaraswamy pointed fingers at the BJP and the Congress and said that the main agenda of the two parties in the state was ensuring division of people by creating conflicts to ensure majority votes in each of their bags.

Speaking after inaugurating the Dakshina Kannada District Janata Dal (Secular) Women's Cell workers' meeting in the city on Saturday, he said that all communal problems had been internally created by the two national political parties merely to gain votes. They have lost the morality to ask for votes from the people after disrupting the communal harmony in the state, he said.

Mocking at the walkathon undertaken by Congress in the twin coastal districts to maintain harmony, he said that the party itself was responsible for upsetting it in the first place. “If there is any mastermind behind the disruption of communal harmony in the coastal region, it is the Congress,” he said adding that the Congress which originally shut down the sugar factories of the region, is now acting like a savior of the sugar factory workers by announcing its revival.

“They have kept the controversy surrounding the Idgah maidan in Hubli alive for the past 10-15 years, which has resulted in several communal clashes. The issue of Dattapeetha at Bababundangiri in Chikmagalur was also created when the Congress government was in power, and they are the reason for the communal conflicts in the district,” he said adding that the party had chosen the issue of the proposed Tipu University in Srirangapatna at present to cash on votes again playing the communal card.

“Today, there is a need to question whether either of the two parties in the state have undertaken any program for the uplift of the poor. We can see women rolling beedies and doing other odd jobs to eke out a living. What have these national parties done for the women,” he questioned.

He said that JD (S) had also stood against the maladministration of the BJP in the state from the time they had come to power. Asking for support from people in the coming elections, he promised to increase the monthly pension of elderly parents from Rs 400 to Rs 1000 to enable them to support their families, and said that this facility would also be extended to unmarried women.

Stating that the government had not released a single rupee as honorarium for unemployed youth, he promised to bring an end to social weakness in the future if JD (S) came to power.

President of JD(S) district women's cell Jayalakshmi Hegde made the introductory speech. JD(S) leaders such as former ministers K Amaranath Shetty and B Nagaraj Shetty, election candidate A Sadananda Shetty, Madhu Bangarappa, M B Sadashiv, Sushil Noronha, Mohammed Kunhi Vittla, D M Aslam and others participated in the meeting.

Prior to the meeting, a two-wheeler rally organised by the district youth wing was flagged off by JD (S) state secretary M G Hegde. Mr Kumaraswamy also participated in the rally. A workshop on 'Atrocities on women and role of law in the protection of women' by Marlin Martis was also held prior to the meeting.