Mangaluru: Senior Congress leader and former Union minister B Janardhan Poojary has termed the founding of Bharatiya Hindu Parishat by a few party members in Puttur against the constitution of the party and has demanded that the district, state units and AICC take strict disciplinary action against them.
Speaking at a media meet at the party office in the city on Thursday, he said that Congress was a party that had evolved on a firm secular base. Admittance to the party to anyone was strictly on condition of having agreed to be bound by this principle. Any violation would make the members liable to disciplinary action. Hence the floating of BHP was an anti-party activity, he averred.
He further said that the Congress party was not against any religion. Any faith could be professed and traditions be practised while being in the party. Therefore there was no necessity to found any separate outfit. He expressed fear as to what the consequences could be if persons belonging to different faiths began floating their own outfits. This should be realized by the promoters of BHP, he urged.
As long as one remained in the party, its discipline should be adhered to. If it was not possible, such persons should resign from the party and then set up their own outfits. He recalled that he had cautioned about some communal-minded people being in the party. His words appeared to have come true, he added.
Speaking further he said that to think that votes could be garnered by setting up BHP was a delusive idea. Looking back at the history of the party, it might have suffered setbacks but it had always bounced back with renewed energy.
Party leaders like Kallige Taranath Shetty, Harikrishna Bantwal, T K Sudhir and others were present at the media meet.