TEAM HERALD
bureau@herald-goa.com
BELGAUM: Even as the government is tight lipped over reports of Pramod Muthalik visiting the state to attend the Hindu Janjagruti Samiti organised All India Hindu Convention (AIHC), the Sri Ram Sene chief has himself said that he is coming for the conference.
He, however, said that he was not planning to launch his outfit in Goa in the immediate future.
Speaking to Herald, Muthalik stated that he is certainly looking forward to open SRS branches in Goa, but he denied any possibility of doing so in the near future even as he confirmed that he was coming to the state.
The convention will have some 60 Hindu rightwing outfits including Sanathan Sanstha and 350 people attending it.
“I am certainly looking forward to start SRS activities in Goa, However I am not in a hurry to do so, as there are certain priorities that need to be sorted out in Karnataka,” Muthalik told Herald.
It may be recalled that Muthalik had dared Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar to stop him from entering Goa.
“We are against pub culture and rising drug trade in Goa which is a big threat to Indian culture,” Muthalik had stated earlier, while reiterating his stand to commence SRS activities in Goa.
However, sources say that there are efforts being made at the highest levels to try and see that a controversy does not arise.
The Congress party too has urged BJP-led government to
ban the entry of this controversial Hindu leader for his alleged hate speech during his last visit, where he had exhorted the Hindus to keep a sword handy and use it if challenged.
Goa Pradesh Congress Committee wants the Manohar-Parrikar led government to evoke a section of the law and ban the entry of Muthalik into Goa, a decision that was taken by former Congress Minister Ravi Naik in 2009, wherein Muthalik was banned, since he had vowed to ‘detoxify’ the state from pub culture.
“Government can take legal opinion and take necessary decision to ban entry of Muthalik into Goa,” GPCC spokesperson Durgadas Kamat told media persons on Wednesday. Kamat, expressing his displeasure over Goa Police failure to act against Muthalik in a complaint filed by him, has accused police of being hand in gloves with the Hindu outfits in protecting Muthalik.
“Goa Police would be held responsible for further derogatory statements leading to communal disharmony,” Kamat said announcing that he would approach the High Court for appropriate directions to police for filing FIR in connection with a complaint filed by him on May 29.
The complaint was attached with a YouTube link of the speech delivered by Muthalik in June 2013 in Goa in which he purportedly advised Hindus to keep swords in their homes to instill fear in minds of people belonging to religious minorities. The police closed the case stating that there are no evidence as the YouTube link was found to have been removed by the user.
