5 days ago
Once booked for Babri play, now in dock for inflammatory speech—who is RSS leader Kalladka Prabhakar Bhat
The police in Dakshina Kannada district booked Bhat on Monday for allegedly delivering a provocative speech during a memorial meeting at Kavalapaduru village on 12 May. A case was filed in the Bantwal Rural police station under Section 352(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for attempting to incite enmity between groups.
Bhat is a prominent Hindutva activist who runs a chain of educational institutions and heads other organisations, largely based in Karnataka's Dakshina Kannada district. He is also seen as a mentor to several BJP leaders, including the late Ananth Kumar, Prathap Simha, Nalin Kumar Kateel and several others.
Bengaluru: The Siddaramaiah-led Congress government has filed a case against Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) functionary Kalladka Prabhakar Bhat and several others for provocative speeches and attempting to disrupt peace.
leader of the opposition, warned of protests if the cases were not withdrawn. 'Cases are being filed long after incidents occur. If false allegations are made and cases are filed against Hindu activists, we will take to the streets and protest,' Ashoka said Monday in a statement.
The filing of cases comes days after several Muslim leaders from the Congress decided to tender resignations en masse over inaction by the Siddaramaiah government to take action against the growing environment of hate and retaliatory killings in Karnataka.
There have been renewed tensions following the brutal murder of Abdul Rahiman last Tuesday in what appears to be part of the long list of retaliatory or tit-for-tat killings in the communally sensitive coastal belt of Karnataka. Rahiman's killing was allegedly in retaliation to the killing of Suhas Shetty on 1 May in a busy street in Mangaluru.
Bhat is said to have delivered the speech at a condolence meeting held in memory of Shetty. However, this is not the first time that the Sangh functionary's name has featured in cases of provocative speeches and commentary on Hindu-Muslim issues. Bhat was in the news six years ago when one of the schools he administers recreated a play of the Babri Masjid destruction.
Former BJP MP Prathap Simha, Sri Rama Sena chief Pramod Muthalik and several other leaders under the umbrella group, Federation of All Hindu Organisations, met senior police officers in Bengaluru, asking them to take action against the growing threats to Hindu leaders.
'At the outset, we unequivocally condemn all forms of communal killings. However, the subsequent targeting of Hindu leaders, unchecked incitement, and lawlessness demands urgent intervention,' the group said in its letter to the Director General & Inspector General of Police.
Former BJP MP Prathap Simha told reporters Monday that the government was responsible for not putting an end to retaliatory murders in Karnataka.
'If Praveen Nettaru was not killed, would this series of murder have started? Who killed Suhas Shetty? If they broke the nexus of those who killed Nettaru, we would not have Kerala-style murders in Karnataka,' he claimed.
Simha added that the entire coastal districts were in the grip of terror and that this was not just about the Hindus but also the Christians.
He said that instead of cracking down on members of the banned Popular Front of India (PFI) and its affiliates, the Siddaramaiah government was going after people like Bhat and Nalin Kumar Kateel among others who were trying to allay fears of the Hindus and to keep them united.
Also Read: BJP expels MLAs Somashekar, Hebbar but 'Bombay Boys' continue to stir trouble for Karnataka unit
'Babri Masjid play'
In December 2019, Bhat was in the limelight after the controversial play on the 1992 Babri Masjid destruction in one of his schools. The video of the play showed students enacting the role of Karsevaks—who brought down the Babri Masjid—during their annual sports day at Sri Rama Vidyakendra School in Dakshina Kannada district.
'Each year students recreate important events that happened in the year. This year, the historic decision on the Ramjanmabhoomi prompted students to recreate the scene,' Bhat, the president of the Sri Rama Vidyakendra Trust that runs the school, had said.
In November 2020, the RSs functionary referred to Ullal in Mangaluru as 'Pakistan' as the number of Muslims continued to grow in the region. 'There are many Pakistans created in India by the rising Muslim population. We must increase our population to protect our temples. Otherwise, who will protect our temples and our culture?' an ANI report quoted the Sangh leader as saying.
In 2017, following the murder of RSS worker Sharath Madiwala, BJP leader B.S. Yediyurappa had remarked that any action against Bhat and the 'the entire state would go up in flames'.
'This is a warning to Siddaramaiah. If Prabhakar Bhat is arrested, then the entire state will go up in flames. BJP workers will go out on the streets and the Congress government alone will be responsible for the deterioration of law and order,' Yeddyurappa had said at the time.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
Also Read: Karnataka to set up 'anti-communal force' amid simmering tensions in coastal districts
