A protest march was held in Srirangapatna near here on Saturday demanding ban on the entry of Hindutva leaders Rishikumar Swamy and Pramod Muthalik into Mandya district.
Representatives of Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha (KRRS), Dalit Sangharsha Samithi (DSS) and other organisations gathered in front of the statue of Kuvempu in Srirangapatna under the aegis of the Samana Manaskara Vedike.
After offering floral tribute to the statue of Kuvempu, the activists marched to the office of the tahsildar through Pete Street in Srirangapatna before submitting a memorandum addressed to the Deputy Commissioner of Mandya.
The leaders of KRRS and DSS, who addressed the participants, expressed disappointment over the “soft” approach of the district administration towards Rishikumar Swamy and Pramod Mutalik.
The protesters urged the district administration to protect peace and harmony in the society in Mandya by preventing the entry of the two Hindutva leaders.
The vedike alleged that the two leaders, who were facing cases in different parts of the State for disturbing communal peace and harmony, were making provocative statements for building a temple in the place of the Jamia Masjid in Srirangapatna that comes under the Archeological Survey of India.
“The government should book a case against them and prevent their entry into Mandya district,” the memorandum said.
The vedike has also sought the continuation of Salam Arati at Sri Cheluvanarayana Swamy Temple in Melkote every evening as per the tradition.
The vedike alleged that certain organisations like Bajrang Dal, Sri Ram Sene and Hindu Jagrana Vedike were trying to destroy harmony and peaceful co-existence in Mandya district. The district administration should take suitable action against the organisations and extern miscreants from Mandya district.
Samana Manaskara Vedike’s Lakshman Cheeranahalli, historian Nanjanraje Urs, KRRS leader Manjesh Gowda, DSS leader Kuberappa, advocate Venkatesh and others were present.
