D.K. Congress attacks BJP on Halappa episode

04.05.10 Mangalore : The Hartalu Halappa resignation issue had repercussions in the port city on Tuesday morning, when DKCC President B. Ramanath Rai led an angry procession of local Congressmen to the DC office, against ex-minister Halappa’s moral delinquency, and held a protest meeting that attracted many listeners.

Congress whip in the state legislature and MLA Abhaya Chandra Jain spoke on the boiling occasion and observed that if the ruling government were clean, the ministers would not be polluted, but that BJP ministers themselves were sinners, he added referring to scandals of Renukacharya. Jain asked the CM to resign taking the moral responsibility for his (Shimoga) mate Halappa’s delinquency in a rape case.

State Youth Congress Chief Venkatesh Gowda speaking next, referred to the oaths taken by MLA’s in the name of God, parents and religion and committing crimes as if they are above law and showing disrespect to those persons in whose name the oaths were taken. The BJP is like an Easter egg, rotten in parts and its behaviour is very deceitful. He predicted that Congress would live on even after 125 years, but BJP would perish in the next 2 decades with its tainted history, Gowda roared.

The D.K. Mahila Congress Chief and former ZP Chief, Mamatha Gatti attacked BJP mentality of looking down upon women, when BJP leaders call them in endearing terms while begging for votes, and then using them like chattels. The complaining woman (who had been raped) must have undergone a lot of suffering before publicly appealing to male Police Officers, she added. Mamatha demanded CBI enquiry into the whole of Halappa rape case.

Former minister and present MLA, DKCC Chief B. Ramanath Rai, addressing the protest meet, called the BJP rule as corrupt and tainted with criminals sitting in the cabinet, while taking pious oaths in public. He pointedly asked BJP if it had followed Sri Rama’s principles during a 2-year rule, which saw MLA Sampangi episode (of taking money), Padma Priya murder case (in which Udupi MLA Raghupathi Bhat was involved) and minister Renukacharya’s sexy episodes with a nurse, besides Halappa raping a married woman in Nov. 2009. Rai called for the Governor’s rule in Karnataka, by dismissing the present corrupt BJP rule.

Labour leader Ivan D’Souza welcomed the gathering. Kallige Taranath Shetty, Naveen D’Souza, Padmanabha Naringana, Arun Coelho, Shashidhar Hegde and several other Congress leaders were present to register their protest.

At the end of the protest meet, slogans were shouted by party workers against BJP and ex-minister H. Halappa. An image of Halappa was set on fire on the grim occasion.