Karnataka Home Minister Dr G. Parameshwara will on Tuesday visit the communally sensitive coastal districts where he is likely to hold meetings with police authorities in connection with cases of moral policing and cow vigilantism in the region.
Minister Parameshwar left Bengaluru this morning for a two-day tour of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts. He will chair the meeting of police officers at the West Zonal office in district headquarters of Dakshina Kannada district Mangaluru before meeting party leaders at the Mangaluru Congress office.
The Minister will chair a meeting at the Mangaluru Police Commissionerate later. He will reach the neighbouring district Udupi later and conduct a meeting of police authorities at the office of Superintendent of Police in Udupi.
The coastal region is considered as a bastion of BJP and laboratory of Hindutva. Many cases of moral policing, cow vigilantism, love jihad, attacks on churches and terrorism were reported from the region. The region witnesses communal tension often. The region is also known for Hindu sacred pilgrimage centers.
During previous rule of the Congress government between 2013 and 2018, the region had witnessed a series of killings of Hindu activists. The Siddaramaiah-led government has maintained that the allegations are propaganda by the BJP. After the BJP government came to power in the state in 2019, the hijab crisis emanated from here and the region also witnessed gruesome revenge killings.
Despite the anti-incumbency factor, BJP performed well in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts. The party won all the five seats in Udupi district and six of the eight seats and Congress managed to win two seats in Dakshina Kannada district.
After Siddaramaiah took over as the chief minister for a second time, a stern warning was issued to Hindutva forces. Minister for RDPR, IT and BT Priyank Kharge even spoke of banning Bajrang Dal and RSS. Later, CM Siddaramaiah maintained that his government had not discussed a ban on the RSS.
Minister Parameshwara will also visit Kollur Mookambika temple in Kollur on March 7 and conduct special worship to the deity before returning to Bengaluru.
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