Mysuru, 13 Sept

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday said that police will decide on whether to book former BJP MP Pratap Simha over his provocative statements.

Simha had filed a petition in the Karnataka High Court against the State government’s decision to invite International Booker Prize winner Banu Mushtaq to inaugurate this year’s Dasasra festival in Mysuru.

If Simha attempts to create disturbances during the celebration, the police will take action against him, Siddaramaiah said in Mysuru.

“Let the matter be settled in court,” he said about the petitions.

Reacting to FIRs against BJP leaders CT Ravi and Basanagouda Yatnal, Siddaramaiah said, “If BJP leaders make provocative speeches, what should we do?.... We will take action against those who make inflammatory speeches. This is not politics.”

Responding to allegations that the action targeted Hindus, he said, "I am also Hindu. My Name is Siddaramaiah. Sidda means Eshwara. Ramaiah means Rama or Lord  Vishnu.

CONVERSION

Responding to BJP’s charge that the state government was adding new castes to the caste census, Siddaramaiah said, “What do they say about the caste census undertaken by the central government?”

He clarified that converted persons would be counted under their present caste.

“People are converting because of the system. If Hindu society had equality and equal opportunities, why would they convert? Why did untouchability come? Did we not create it ourselves? Though inequality exists in Hindu, Muslim, and Christian religions, people have converted. It is their right,” he maintained.

CASTELESS SOCIETY

Addressing a large gathering at the inauguration of Sri Shivarathri Rajendra Anubhava Mantapa and the office of the JSS Prasada Nilaya Senior Students Housing Cooperative Society near Varuna Lake in Mysuru later in the day, Siddaramaiah said that building a casteless society is the essence of the Constitution.

He said a casteless society was something that 12th-century social reformer/philosopher Basavanna also envisioned and said that education played a key role in realising this goal.