Congress Condemns Cleansing of Venue Where Mallikarjun Kharge Spoke
Kundapur: The Congress has strongly condemned the act of cleansing the venue where AICC President and Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge delivered a speech, terming it an insult to humanity and constitutional values.
KPCC state spokesperson Sudheer Kumar Murolli said the act had crossed all limits of political disagreement and reflected political intolerance.
Speaking at a protest meeting organised by the Kundapur Block Congress at Shastri Circle on Thursday afternoon, Murolli said Kharge might be a political opponent of the BJP, and the BJP and RSS might oppose his ideology. However, he questioned the kind of political culture that involved cleansing the very place where Kharge had delivered his speech.
Murolli said cleansing the spot where Kharge had stood and spoken was a sign of political intolerance. He said the act was not merely an insult to an individual but an affront to humanity itself.
“The Constitution given by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar grants every citizen the right to protest and express their opinion. If so, can the Constitution given by Ambedkar itself be washed away?” he questioned.
He said Kharge is one of the senior leaders in the country and has decades of experience in public life. Showing respect to senior leaders, he said, should be part of democratic political culture. Political differences are natural, but they should not lead to personal insults, he added.
Murolli urged BJP leaders in the district to condemn the insult to Kharge. “Political differences are one thing, but they should demonstrate the minimum political decency of condemning the insult to a senior leader,” he said.
Dalit Sangharsha Samiti leaders Manjunath Giliyar, Raju Bettinmane, Jagadish Gangolli, Ganesh Koraga and Ashwath Kumar addressed the protest.
Murolli also condemned the recent attack on journalists. He said that anyone dissatisfied with news published by journalists should respond through lawful and democratic means.
“Attacking, threatening or intimidating journalists cannot be justified under any circumstances. The Congress party condemns the recent attack on journalists. Press freedom must be protected, and democracy must remain alive. It is wrong to intimidate journalists simply because they have published news that someone does not like,” he said.
Block Congress president Keduru Sadananda Shetty and party leaders Dinesh Hegde Molahalli, Malyadi Shivaram Shetty, Hariprasad Shetty Kanmakki, Vinod Crasta, Devaki Sannaiah, Asha Carvalho, Jyothi Putran, Ichhitarth Shetty, Roshan Shetty, Ashwath Shetty and Nagendra, along with former municipal and gram panchayat members, party leaders and workers, participated in the protest.
After the protest, the demonstrators took out a procession through the main roads and proceeded to the Mini Vidhana Soudha, where they submitted a memorandum to Grade-II Tahsildar Vasanth.
