Pics: Meryick D'Silva
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (MD)

Mangaluru, Dec 29: Various pro-Hindu outfits under the joint aegis of Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal will take out a protest rally headed by Sri Vishweshatirtha Swamiji of Pejawar Math on Thursday, January 1, against the state government for its alleged 'anti-Hindu' attitude.

The rally will start from Sharavu Sri Mahaganapathi Temple and culminate at DC's office where prominent issues will be discussed in a public meet.

Announcing this at a press meet here on Monday December 29, VHP working president said M B Puranik said, "From the day the Karnataka government came to power, it has been showing an anti-Hindu attitude. The sentiments of Hindus have been hurt by the withdrawal of the two proposed bills to protect cattle."

Hindutva supporters from Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, Kasargod and Kodagu are expected to take part in the rally. Around 1,600 sadhus will also take part in the rally, he said.

Commenting on the 'Ghar Wapsi' re-conversion drive by the Hindu outfits, he said, "Conversion has been happening from a long time. Those who had got converted from Hinduism to other religions are trying to come back to Hinduism on their own and we are trying to help them. We are not forcing them to convert. It is their own decision. The same thing happened in Uttar Pradesh and the Congress party made this a big issue," he added.

"The sad thing is the previous central and present state governments are trying to supress Hindus. The state government is working for one particular religion rather than working as a secular government. They are working for the minorities to grab their votes. In every religion and society there are problems and Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Sangh Parivars, Maths and Swamijis are trying to eliminate such problems and doing an honest job. By making this matter a big issue the state government is trying to divide the society," he said.

"Illegal cattle trafficking, cow slaughtering, attempting to take over Maths by placing them under government control and probing into reverse conversion are strictly condemned by the VHP," Puranik added.

He said that the earlier government in the state had proposed two bills to protect cattle, but they were not introduced due to the ‘inactive’ administration of the earlier governor. "The Siddaramaiah-led government cancelled both the bills. This has deeply hurt the religious sentiments of the Hindus," he said.

Speaking about the government’s plan to take over the Maths and their institutions, he said that the Congress was following the ‘Doctrine of Lapse’ policy of the British era and warned Siddaramaiah of dire consequences if the trend continues. "We want to live in harmony with people from other communities. However, the dirty politics of the state government is not allowing that to happen," he claimed.

Speaking on the Bengaluru bomb blast, Puranik said that the Congress government had totally failed to prevent it as its busy interfering in unwanted issues.

Speaking on the 'Bahu Lao-Beti Bachao' campaign where Hindu boys are encouraged to convert girls of other religions and marry them, Puranik said that the VHP is not planning to start it in Mangaluru as there are already lots of other burning issues to handle. "In Kerala, the Love Jihad problem is increasing day by day, but we are worried about those Hindu girls who are marrying boys from other religions. We are trying to find out what is wrong with our religion that makes our girls marry boys from other religions," he said.

Divisional Go Raksha Pramukh Kateel Dinesh Pai, zonal convener Sharan Pumpwell, district VHP secretary Gopal Kuttar, Praveen Kuthar and others were present.