Temple committee apologises to Muslims hurt by Belthangady MLA's remarks
The trust managing Gopalakrishna Temple at Bhattarabailu in Tekkar village of Belthangady taluk, Dakshina Kannada district, has apologised to Muslims who were hurt by the alleged hate speech made by Belthangady MLA, Harish Poonja, during the 'dharmika sabha' programme of temple's Brahmakalashotsava function on May 3.
The MLA reportedly blamed a section of the Muslims for damaging some tubelights put up by the Brahamkalashotsava organising committee. The MLA questioned the organising committee members for inviting Muslims for the event.
Following a complaint, the Uppinangady police filed a case against the MLA on May 4, charging him of making an inflammatory speech. Mr. Poonja was booked under Section 353(2) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
In a May 5 letter to the temple trust, members of the local Muslim Okkoota expressed unhappiness over the allegation made by the MLA.
'We have been living in harmony with all communities and participating in each other's festivities. The baseless comment by the MLA, who represents all communities, deeply hurt us. Hence, we expressed our anguish with the trust through the letter,' Abdul Razak, president of Tekkar Gram Panchayat and organising secretary of Muslim Okkoota, Saralikatte, Tekkar, told The Hindu.
Following a meeting with members of the Okkoota on May 7, the trust issued a letter on the same day, apologising to the Muslim community for adverse comments made during the Dharmika Sabha programme. Thanking the community members for their active participation in the Brahmakalashotsava, the trust said it wanted all communities to continue with living in harmony in the future.
Meanwhile, speaking to presspersons in Mangaluru on May 5, the MLA justified his speech. Mr. Poonja said that he only 'awakened the Hindu society' through his words. The government interpreted it as communal and inflammatory.
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