Pics: Umesh Marpalli
Daijiworld Media Network - Udupi (UM)
Udupi, Jul 26: Sri Rama Sene chief Pramod Muthalik on Sunday July 26 hit out at AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi for his remarks in support of 1993 Mumbai blasts convict Yakub Memon and said that Owaisi should be removed from his position as MP.
He was addressing a press meet after taking part in the training camp organized by Sri Rama Sene for its volunteers at Shree Narasimhaswamy Temple, Narasinge in Manipal here.
In a controversial remark, Owasi had said that Yakub Memon was being hanged because of his religion.
Strongly condemning the statement, Muthalik said, "So far 174 convicts have been hanged in India, and among them, only 15 were Muslims. Those who commit crimes should be punished in accordance with the law and neither the judiciary nor the President of the country sees anyone's religion when dealing with criminals. Doesn't the Andhra MP know that?
"He (Owaisi) should be removed from his position of MP and strict action should be taken for making such comments. He should respect the law," Muthalik demanded.
He also targetted Bollywood star Salman Khan for his remarks on Yakub Memon. "Now Salman Khan has also joined in support of Yakub Memon. Is he in India or Pakistan? Being a public figure he should not give such statements," he added.
He further said, "There are six communities covered under National Commission for Minorities - Muslim, Christian, Jain, Sikh, Parsi and Buddhist communities. But from past 32 years only Muslims are being given most of facilities to appease them. I condemn this.
"During the monsoon session in Belagavi, we gave a memorandum to minority welfare minister Qamrul Islam in this regard, but he did not give any importance to it. We will next hold a 'Bengaluru Chalo' march with one lac people," he said.
Belagavi - state minister - Qamrul Islam - gave memo - they did not give any importance - we oppose - we will do Bengaluru Chalo with one lac peple -
"Rs 1,000 crore was announced in the last state budget by the chief minister for the welfare of minorities. We demand that the funds should be equally utilized for all minority communities," he added.
"Muslims are not a minority - they are being used as vote banks. This is a national issue and we will urge the PM to look into it. The Minorities Commissioner has become exclusively for Muslims. There should be changes in the Commission every year so that all minority communities get equal importance," he urged.
Moving on to other issues, he also alleged that Shriram Finance has been cheating people. Giving an example, he said, "In 2004, a person named Vijaykumar had taken a loan of Rs 22 lac from the finance company to buy two lorries and by 2007 he had paid back Rs 18 lac. Still, his lorries were seized as Rs 4 lac was pending, and notice was given to him to pay Rs 24 lac. This is daylight robbery. Cases have been filed in Chennai and Udupi courts in this regard. The person who owned two lorries has today become a poor lorry driver. The finance company is even taking high interest from farmers. We will appeal to the DC to shut the company down."
Commenting on the Lokayukta bribery case, he said, "The people are unhappy with the Lokayukta chief. He should resign. If proved innocent by the court he can then rejoin. But now with even Lokayukta being charged with corruption, people have nowhere to go."
Earlier, speaking at the Sri Rama Sene programme, Muthalik commented on Bhatkal and said, "Bhatkal has become a hub for terrorism, which is a threat not only for the district and the state but also for the nation. On the pretext of having a sports club they are training 100 sharp shooters. I have taken up this issue seriously as one Bhatkal resident himself told me about it. We will create awareness on this."
Mahesh Kumar Koppa, SRS Karnataka south province president, Gangadhar Kulkarni, Kumar Malemar, Mohan Bhat and others were present.