Subrahmanya: Union minister of women and child development Maneka Gandhi arrived in the temple town around 7 pm on Saturday.
She came in a car from Mangaluru and stayed overnight in a private lodging house near the Kumaradhara. On behalf of the temple authorities, administration officer Basavaraj welcomed her.
On Sunday morning, before offering prayers at the temple, she spoke to mediapersons and said that there had been a steep rise in the number of children being kidnapped. Such children going wayward could travel alone and aimlessly in trains. Networks operated to abuse them. Hence special cells were being formed at various railway stations in order to identify such children and protect them from evil hands, she said.
Gandhi further said that the Union government was taking all steps to prevent such kidnaps. Children roaming around alone or in suspicious circumstances were being monitored by special cells under the joint aegis of her ministry and railway authorities. Cells would be commissioned in over 200 railway stations very soon, she assured.
She also spoke about the unauthorized slaughterhouses operating in the country, out of which 11,000 were said to be in Uttar Pradesh alone, according to a recent survey. These joints, aided by illegal funds pouring in, were being used for making crude bombs and illegal firearms. Killing of animals was on the rise. The fall in the number of tigers indicated killing of animals. Checking this activity was a challenge. A law to stop cow slaughter was a must. The veterinary resources were not being utilized which had resulted in the slump of cattle population, she said.
In response to a question regarding her cabinet colleague Giriraj Kishore’s reported statement on Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s position being based on her complexion, Maneka refused to comment on the issue.
Thereafter, she offered special pujas and mahabhisheka in the temple. She also visited Adi Subrahmanya shrine.
Puttur revenue assistant commissioner Basavaraj, Sullia tahsildar Srinivas Shetty, temple’s assistant executive officer Ravindra M H, protocol officer Venkatraj, entrepreneur Radhakrishna Bontadka and others were present on the occasion.
Maneka Gandhi is in news after a long time.