After Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, advocates raise voice against 'communal divide' in K'taka

Bengaluru, April 1 A day after Biocon chief Kiran Mazumdar Shaw raised her voice against the 'growing communal exclusion' in Karnataka in the form of halal ban and ban on non-Hindu merchants in temple premises and religious fairs, more people are coming out against what they see as growing communal divide in the southern state.

A team of senior advocates on Friday lodged a complaint with the DGP and IG, Praveen Sood, and the Bengaluru Police Commissioner, Kamal Pant, against some Hindu leaders for allegedly spreading hatred.

Buoyed by the favourable statements of the leaders of the ruling party, the Hindu leaders have given call to boycott all halal products, they said.

The vigilante groups have started to hit the streets, circulating hand bills urging Hindus not to buy halal products. Srirama Sena has gone one step further and announced that Muslim merchants should be banned until they stop eating beef, they said.

The delegation led by senior advocates A.P. Ranganath, Jagadish Kumar and others met Kamal Pant and submitted a complaint against the Hindu leaders for allegedly spreading hatred in the society.

Pant has been urged to take action against Hindu leaders Prashanth Sambargi, Puneeth Kerehalli and Kaali Swamy, among others.

As per the complaint, few individuals and organisations are spreading hatred in Bengaluru, Mangaluru, Udupi, Davanagere, Tumakuru, Belagavi and Kalaburagi districts along with other cities in the state. They are threatening Muslim merchants, which is creating a disturbing situation in the state, they said.

On Thursday, Shaw had stated that if communal exclusion is extended to the IT-BT sector, India would lose its global leadership. She also urged Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai to act in this regard.