KS Bhagawan's book on Lord Ram kicks up row; Right-wing outfits protest
Bengaluru, Dec 28: Right-wing organisations Friday staged a demonstration against academician and author K S Bhagawan, accusing him of depicting Lord Ram in poor light in his book and making derogatory references.
The Kannada book "Rama Mandira Yeke Beda" (Why Ram temple is not required) claims Ram was not a God and he suffered from weaknesses just as any other human being.
Bhagawan, who had courted controversy by making certain references to the Bhagavad Gita that are termed as "offensive" by right-wing outfits, has made unflattering observations about Ram's character in his book.
The author, however, defended his work, saying it was based on Valmiki's Ramayana.
Pro-Hindu activists staged a demonstration in front of his house Friday and courted arrest.
BJP's Karnataka unit also targeted Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy over his "silence" on the issue and demanded that Bhagawan be arrested immediately.
"Will @hd_kumaraswamy govt that arrested Journalist Santosh Thammaiah for speaking against fanatic Tippu also dare to arrest K S Bhagawan for abusing Lord Ram & his cheap statements on Hinduism. Why govt is protecting this offender by providing security instead of arresting?" the party tweeted.
State senior BJP leader and MLA S Suresh Kumar said in a Facebook post that the state government had two choices "either it should jail Bhagawan or send him to mental hospital".
Meanwhile, Kannada news channel journalist Ajith Hanumakkanavar received death threat from the operators of a Facebook page "Mangalore Muslims" for allegedly hurting their religious sentiments while debating on the book written by Bhagawan Thursday.
The admin of the Facebook page threatened the journalist to seek apology within two days in a live programme or else he would be killed.
As the book snowballed into a big controversy, police strengthened security around Bhagawan's house and asked him to avoid going to any place alone.
Speaking to PTI, Hanumakkanavar said he had decided to lodge a police complaint and seek protection.
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Another North Goa nightclub sealed; Kejriwal says corruption led to fire tragedy
Panaji (PTI): As part of a crackdown against tourist establishments violating laws and safety norms in the aftermath of the Arpora fire tragedy, Goa authorities on Saturday sealed a renowned club at Vagator and revoked the fire department NOC of another club.
Cafe CO2 Goa, located on a cliff overlooking the Arabian Sea at Vagator beach in North Goa, was sealed. The move came two days after Goya Club, also in Vagator, was shut down for alleged violations of rules.
Elsewhere, campaigning for local body polls, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal said the fire incident at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub at Arpora, which claimed 25 lives on December 6, happened because the BJP government in the state was corrupt.
An inspection of Cafe CO2 Goa by a state government-appointed team revealed that the establishment, with a seating capacity of 250, did not possess a no-objection certificate (NOC) of the Fire and Emergency Services Department. The club, which sits atop Ozrant Cliff, also did not have structural stability, the team found.
The Fire and Emergency Services on Saturday also revoked the NOC issued to Diaz Pool Club and Bar at Anjuna as the fire extinguishers installed in the establishment were found to be inadequate, said divisional fire officer Shripad Gawas.
A notice was issued to Nitin Wadhwa, the partner of the club, he said in the order.
Campaigning at Chimbel village near Panaji in support of his party's Zilla Panchayat election candidate, Aam Aadmi Party leader Kejriwal said the nightclub fire at Arpora happened because of the "corruption of the Pramod Sawant-led state government."
"Why this fire incident happened? I read in the newspapers that the nightclub had no occupancy certificate, no building licence, no excise licence, no construction licence or trade licence. The entire club was illegal but still it was going on," he said.
"How could it go on? Couldn't Pramod Sawant or anyone else see it? I was told that hafta (bribe) was being paid," the former Delhi chief minister said.
A person can not work without bribing officials in the coastal state, Kejriwal said, alleging that officers, MLAs and even ministers are accepting bribes.
