Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (JM)
Mangaluru, Jul 12: Continuing his attack on district in-charge minister Ramanath Rai, ex-Congressman Harikrishna Bantwal on Wednesday July 12 termed Rai as a 'most unfit' person for the post he is holding, and also accused him of being the reason for the fissures among the people of different communities.
Addressing a press meet here on, Harikrishna Bantwal asserted that Ramanath Rai had been 'proved guilty' of abusing senior Congress leader Janardhan Poojary at a wedding in February, as he had failed to show up at Dharmasthala to swear his innocence. "I had challenged Ramanath Rai to take oath in Dharmasthala to prove his innocence, but he did not show up. Rai called up Poojary last night and apologised to him, and pleaded him not to hold a press meet on the issue," Bantwal claimed.
"A person who never even thought of calling Poojary for any of the party programmes, be it the inauguration of the new Congress office in Mallikatta or CM Siddaramaiah's visit to the district, how did he now remember him all of a sudden?" he questioned. "If Rai really felt apologetic then he should have publicly done it and not over the phone. Nevertheless, no one can ever stop me from conducting a press meet, be it a call from Poojary himself," he declared.
He also spoke about the communal disturbances in the district and said, "Rai who is supposed to be a person responsible and bring peace between the communities is instead scissoring them apart. He should have acted as the sewing needle and united them. Rai is the most dangerous and poisonous politician, and no doubt, this is his 'vinashada kala' (time of destruction).
He also criticised Rai for not attending the funeral of slain RSS worker Sharath Madivala even though it happened in his own constituency, Bantwal. He then questioned the reason behind his absence and said, "Rai attended SDPI leader Ashraf Kalayi's funeral, so why not Sharath's funeral when it was held in his own constituency? Sharath’s father’s shop was where Rai gave his clothes for laundering. Despite knowing him so well, why did he not attend Sharath's funeral or at least pay a visit to the hospital when his body was kept there?" he questioned.
When reporters pointed out that Rai had visited Sharath's house on Wednesday morning, Harikrishna Bantwal said, "It was just an attempt to maintain a clean image of himself and not out of humanity."
Bantwal also gave four ideas to make the district crime-free:
1. SP office should be transferred to Puttur.
2. Farangipet should have an upgraded police station of its own.
3. Every house should have a CCTV camera facing towards the streets, so that it acts as evidence if any crime happens.
4. As a good citizen, everyone should gather the courage to voice out against criminals and bring it to the notice of the police as soon as possible.
He then said that he knows how badly Rai had spoken about the society in one of the houses in Bantwal, but did not reveal details, saying he would do it some other time. He concluded by warning Rai and said that it was his 'last chance', without elaborating further.