Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (SB)
Mangaluru, Oct 3: As part of a nationwide agitation against the murder of senior journalist Gauri Lankesh last month, the 'Gauri Lankesh Hatye Virodhi Horata Samiti' (action committee against Gauri Lankesh's murder) on Monday October 2 staged a protest claiming that 'the killers of Mahatma Gandhi murdered Gauri Lankesh'. Significantly, the protest was held in front of the Gandhi statue near Town Hall on Gandhi Jayanti.
Addressing the protesters, Shivasundar, activist and friend of Gauri Lankesh said, "We all know who killed Mahatma Gandhi. There is no doubt that the same forces killed our Gauri Lankesh too. They were scared of the popularity of the views expressed by Gauri, so they planned to eliminate her.
"They followed the same policy that they used to kill Gandhi. They felt her existence was a threat to their ideology. They hate progressive thinkers and writers. They do not like anyone questioning them," he added.
"After Narendra Dabholkar, Govind Pansare, Prof Kalburgi and now Gauri Lankesh, we do not know who would be murdered next. But one by one, they will kill everyone who questions them and refuses to become their slave. But we the people of the progressive society will not surrender. They killed one Gauri but today we can see a million Gauris in our nation. They cannot stop us with guns and weapons," Shivasunder said.
Suresh Bhat, senior writer and progressive thinker said, "At the time of Mahatma Gandhi's murder, the RSS had denied its involvement in it. But they there were hundreds of proofs pointing out that RSS was directly involved in the murder. The RSS has been involved in the several murders, but each time it has denied its role. RSS never participated in the freedom struggle, but it brands itself as a 'true nationalist'. It is trying to crush the voice of the society. RSS killed Gauri because of her habit of telling the truth. She was martyred for truth."
Dr Sajiha, Harsha Kumar Kudwa, and many progressive writers and thinkers were present.