Lynching of their own, Udupi BJP leaders a worried lot

Udupi: BJP leaders here are worried about the political fallout of the lynching of  right wing activist Praveen Poojary by cow vigilantes, with progressive and Left organisations, besides the Congress already labelling the party anti- Dalit and anti- Backward Class.

Many of them fear this sentiment could grow stronger as Praveen,  a local BJP leader from Kokkarne village in Udupi district, belonged to the Billava community, a backward class, dominant in 11 of the 13 assembly constituencies of Udupi and Dakshina Kannada districts.

With state elections due in 2018, the community is expected to play an important role in the winning prospects of parties on the coast.

“The Congress and other organisations are already calling saffron outfits anti-backward. We are concerned  they could intensify this campaign now and impact our  election prospects here ,” said a senior BJP leader from Udupi, adding,  “We will have to wait and watch how the issue develops  and then take necessary steps to make sure the  community doesn’t turn against us.

The attack may have been a result of personal rivalry. Giving it a political colour is unfair.  Our district leaders have visited the house of Praveen Poojary and we believe our senior state leaders too will take note of this.” 

Meanwhile , Billava leaders seem to have no love for any of the political parties.“Both the BJP and Congress need Billavas, but are unwilling to help us.  If the Praveen Poojary incident has revealed the true colours of saffron outfits, the Congress too is no better as it has denied the community posts in the party and government. Both  parties don’t want to empower the Billavas or OBCs,” charged Rastriya Billava Mahamandala spokesman, Harikrishna Bantwal, arguing that political power was the only way to cure the ills of the community. “We may have to start our own political outfit,” he maintained.

Three more arrested
The Udupi police have arrested three more people in connection with the murder of Praveen Poojary, taking the total number of arrested to 21.

The accused have been sent to judicial custody.  The police said that the trio was at the spot when Poojary was assaulted. Poojary, a BJP leader, was murdered allegedly by gau rakshaks belonging to saffron outfits on Wednesday night near Kokkarne in Udupi district.

Udupi SP K.T. Balakrishna said that the department is chalking out plans to stop such incidents in the district. “We want to put an end to this problem. We are discussing and chalking out plans which will be revealed shortly,” he said.