Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (SP)

Mangaluru, Dec 23: "The state ministers are accusing the Congress of having stoked violence here. Let them show to us if there is a single Congressmen accused of communal deaths and clashes which happened in the district so far," challenged former state minister B Ramanath Rai.

Speaking at a press meet here on Sunday, December 22, Rai said that all the persons named in first information reports relating to church, pub raids and other communal clashes belong to two communal parties. "Not even a single Congress party worker has been named. If you check the police record, you can find out who are the accused. Congress has never supported any kind of violence, nor will in future," he stated.

He said that the state government's failure was the lone cause for the disturbances here. "To cover-up their fault, they are trying to pass blame to the Congress. If they are sure that Congress was involved, let the government hand over the incident to judicial probe headed by current high court judge. Names of the guilty will come out," he said.

Rai said that the chief minister and home minister are responsible for the incident because imposing section 144 just to crush the right to protest was wrong. He termed the two deaths caused during the violence as caused by the government. He said that he has never delivered any provocative speeches so far, and said that MPs, Nalin Kumar and Shobha Karandlaje, who are known for such things, had come when the chief minister visited the city.

He also termed the restrictions placed on Siddaramaiah's visit to the city as a blow on democratic system. He insisted that opposition leaders too have the right to meet the families in distress and console them.

Congress district president Harish Kumar, MLC Ivan D'Souza. Leaders Abdul Rauf, A C Vinay Raj, Shashidhar Hegde, Naveen D'Souza, D K Ashok, T K Sudheer and others were present.