Karnataka government treads cautiously on kissfest

Bengaluru: Taking cautious steps on the Kiss of Love protest in Bengaluru, the government has decided to seek opinion for and against the campaign. After a meeting chaired by the State Home Secretary S.K. Pattanayak, the government stated that it will weigh the options before taking a decision on the smoochfest.

The government will also consider the opinions of police officers on the field, it said. After the meeting, City Police Commissioner M.N. Reddi said that the government will ask the organisers about their activities on the day of the protest and their motive. “But anyone, either the organisers or the participants, violate the rules the police will initiate strict action against them,” he said.

Meanwhile, president of the State unit of Akhila Bharata Hindu Mahasabha, Swami Pranavananda, who is in the city, convened a meeting to step up protests against the campaign. He said, “The meeting was attended by 22 leaders of Akhila Bharta Hindu Mahasabha from all over the state. We have decided to hold a rally at Freedom Park at 10.30 am on November 29.”

Poojary opposes campaign
Mangaluru: After opposition from saffron outfits and opposition parties, it is now the turn of senior Congress leader and former Karnataika Pradesh Congress Committee chief B. Janardhan Poojary to oppose the Kiss of Love protest. Mr Poojary on Monday said that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah should not allow the campaign in Bengaluru this month. He also asked the chief minister to arrest the activists if they went ahead with the programme.

“An act of excessive activism (moral policing) should not be countered with another excess (Kiss of Love). Such an event could attract penal provision as it amounts to outraging the modesty of women and will only provide another weapon to the Sangh Parivar. There is a danger of such acts being imitated in government offices and educational institutions,” he warned.