BJP Minister withdraws resignation

Karnataka’s Minister for Ports and Fisheries B Nagaraj Shetty has withdrawn the resignation he had submitted in the wake of communal riots in Mangalore.

Shetty, who is also the Minister in charge of Mangalore district, had submitted his resignation from the coalition JD (S)-BJP cabinet owning moral responsibility for the violence that rocked Mangalore recently, claiming the lives of two persons and injuring 80 others.

Shetty, who belongs to the BJP, withdrew his resignation after Deputy Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa met him and convinced him to reconsider his decision to quit the coalition. Shetty is understood to have relented only after Yediyurappa assured to speak to Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy and secure the release of his supporters, who had reportedly been arrested at the behest of Home Minister M P Prakash, who belongs to the JD (S).

After withdrawing his resignation, Shetty told reporters that he decided to quit as he was hurt by the allegations that he had orchestrated the communal trouble in Mangalore. “I was pained by the charges against me that I was responsible for the violence”, Shetty said.

However, Shetty said he had decided to withdraw his resignation after Deputy Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa and BJP’s Karnataka unit President D V Sadananda Gowda met and him requested him to reconsider his decision.

But, Shetty laid the blame for the communal trouble in Mangalore squarely at the doorstep of the Congress party. Though Shetty is understood to have been deeply hurt by Home Minister M P Prakash’s decision to arrest his followers and other BJP supporters in Mangalore, the Minister choose against airing his grievances against the JD (S) leader in public.

Meanwhile, former Karnataka Chief Minister M Veerappa Moily said Hindu fundamentalist organizations were behind the recent riots in Mangalore.

Describing as “irresponsible” the Government’s statement about the involvement of Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) in the communal violence, Moily denied the existence of any Muslim fundamentalist organization in Mangalore district. “The JD (S)-BJP Government is unnecessarily dragging SIMI into the picture”.

On the other hand, the communal clashes in Mangalore were the handiwork of Bajrang Dal and Rashtriya Ram Sena, Moily said. “These Hindu fundamentalist organizations are creating a situation for SIMI to percolate into the region. I appeal to the Government to immediately curb the activities of these Hindu outfits”, Moily said