Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (MH)
Mangaluru, Jul 9: MLC Ivan D'Souza, during a press meet at the Congress office in Mallikatte on Tuesday, July 9, strongly condemned MLA Bharath Shetty's slap remark towards Rahul Gandhi. He challenged Shetty, stating, "I challenge Bharath Shetty to lay a hand on any Congress member first and see what happens," while criticizing the BJP for promoting violence and divisive politics.
Addressing the media, Ivan D'Souza said, "Nobody gave the BJP the exclusive right to speak for Hindutva. They act as if Hindutva belongs solely to them. What Rahul Gandhi said is that the BJP promotes violence in the name of Hinduism. Real Hindutva does not advocate violence, and by doing this, the BJP is destroying society. I listened to Rahul Gandhi's speech five times and found nothing wrong with it. Even Hindu priests are defending Rahul Gandhi's speech, saying that the BJP is dividing people based on religion."
He further stated, "As the opposition leader, Rahul Gandhi expressed his concern that we might be heading towards an autocratic society, emphasizing the need to save democracy and stop religious politics. Even Prime Minister Modi couldn't respond to this in Parliament, but BJP leaders outside the Lok Sabha are engaging in petty politics. Bharath Shetty said he would slap Rahul Gandhi inside Parliament, something even Modi couldn't do. His provocative speech comparing Rahul Gandhi to a dog is heinous. Bharath is uncultured and unfit to be a member of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly. He also threatened to take up weapons in public, which is an offense. A suo moto case should be registered against Bharath Shetty for his provocative speech."
"BJP is the reason that our district is considered a communal area. What are they even doing for the poor people? They have even stopped Bharat Rice. Rahul Gandhi is not alone in this; we will support him. The INDIA alliance is the strongest group in Parliament. I guarantee that within six months, this NDA government will fall," he added.
M G Hegde criticized the BJP's narrow definition of Hindutva, stating, "The BJP thinks only they represent Hindutva and others are not Hindu. They labelled Muslims as anti-Hindu and told them to go to Pakistan. Then they said whoever doesn't vote for BJP is anti-Hindu and targeted Hindu priests. They even trolled Lord Ram. Rahul Gandhi addresses people's concerns, whether in Hathras or Gujarat, and they cannot tolerate it. Bharath Shetty talks about weapons but will not hold one himself; he incites the youth to do so. Speaking provocatively does not make you a hero but a zero. Our party cannot stoop as low as Bharath Shetty. In the next election, there will be no ticket for Bharath Shetty or Vedavyas Kamath."
Prakash Salian, Shahul Hamid, Sohan Alva, Subhoday Alva, Ashraf, Salim, Imran, and others were present at the meet.