Cong snubs BJP leaders for targetting Poojari

By CT reporter
MANGALORE : Allegations and counter-allegations, this has become much more common in the district, particularly after the recent communal violence, with political parties blaming each other for the violence.
Now, it seems it is the turn of the political parties, to blame each other on the compensation issue. The Vittal legislator Padmanabha Kottari and the district BJP secretary, had recently accused the Congress leaders of instigating the violence and had also charged Congress leaders including Rajya Sabha member B Janaradhan Poojari of consoling and provding compensation to victims belonging to the minority community only.
Reacting sharply to this allegation, the Congress spokesperson Harikrishna Bantwal has counter charged the BJP and the Sangh Parivar of patronising communal violence that is proving detrimental to the progress of the district. The police records are ample evidence to this fact, he said.
He made it clear that Poojari had visited nearly 145 houses of riot hit people in Vittal, Ullal and Suratkal assembly cosntituency limits recently and had distributed compensation of Rs 2.90 lakh collected from Congress workers and liberal minded donors.
Dubbing as baseless the allegation that only minority community families have been provided compensatioon, Harikrishna said compensation has been distributed to 64 Hindu famiies, 69 Muslim families and 12 Christians.
The tears of these innocents speak volumes of the turmoil they underwent but did not reveal their communities, Harikrishna said and charged that not even a single BJP leader had come forward to provide compensation to the affected.
He even went on to say that not even a single BJP leader of the district had visited the places visited by Poiari, nor have they the courage to visit those places.
He further warned the BJP that the Congress would not remain silent if the BJP tried to pass the buck on the Congress to hush up its misdeeds.