Congress Ministers and leaders of the party faced an embarrassing moment at the party’s office in Shivamogga on Wednesday when a party leader wanted to know why the State government had not arrested Sangh Parivar leader Kalladka Prabhakar Bhat even after a complaint was registered for his controversial statement.
Shivamogga district unit of the Congress held a meeting ahead of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s visit to Shivamogga on January 12. Minister for School Education Madhu Bangarappa, Higher Education Minister M.C. Sudhakar and Medical Education Minister Sharanaprakash Patil attended the meeting.
When the district president, H.S. Sundaresh, was addressing the gathering, C.M. Khader, a leader of the party in Bhadravathi, intervened and asked why Prabhakar Bhat had not been arrested. He had made derogatory remarks about Muslim women. “He has insulted women in the country. Why are you soft on him? Don’t you consider it your responsibility to protect women?” Mr. Khader asked. Mr. Khader is the younger brother of former Union Minister C.M. Ibrahim.
Mr. Sundaresh tried to pacify him by stating that the government had registered a complaint against Bhat. However, Mr. Khader was not satisfied with the reply. He argued that booking a case was not enough. The Ministers on the dais did not react. Party workers and other leaders in the gathering somehow convinced him not to prolong the issue.
Later, Mr. Sundaresh appealed to the Muslims not to get provoked by the speeches of Prabhakar Bhat, C.T. Ravi, K.S. Eshwarappa or any such BJP leader. “For the next five months, don’t make any controversial statements provoked by BJP leaders,” he told them.
The Ministers were in Shivamogga to review the preparations for the CM’s visit scheduled for January 12. The CM would take part in the launch of Yuva Nidhi in Shivamogga.
