Withdrawal of govt. awards conferred on Arun Ullal sought

Mangaluru CEN police registered a case against the teacher for alleged hate speech on Ocotber 5

A group, comprising writers and former teachers, on Sunday, October 6, urged the government to withdraw the Dakshina Kannada district-level Rajyotsava Award and Karnataka Tulu Sahitya Academy Award conferred on Arun Ullal, a teacher against whom Mangaluru CEN police registered a case for alleged hate speech on Saturday, October 5.

Mr. Ullal was an Assistant Professor at a college in the city, they said.

In a joint media statement, the group comprising doctor Srinivas Kakkillaya, former teachers Gananatha Shetty Ekkar, B. Shivarama Shetty, Udaya Kumar Irvathur and N. Ismail, writer B.M. Rohini, activists Muneer Katipalla, Sunil Kumar Bajal, Kallur Nagesh and 14 others said that they were shocked over the speech made by Mr. Ullal at a convention of newlyweds at Kinya. The speech was divisive and created hatred towards religious minorities, they said.

Stating that his speech was against the spirit of the Constitution, they said that the State government should also book Sangha Pariwar leaders who shared the stage with him at the programme.

MLA seeks withdrawal of case

Meanwhile, D. Vedavyasa Kamath, Mangaluru City South MLA, in a statement said that police have registered a suo moto case against Mr. Ullal to appease the State government. The case should be withdrawn as Mr. Ullal’s address was not a hate speech, the MLA said.

Mr. Kamath questioned why police did not register a suo motu case against Ivan D’Souza, MLC, when he stated at a protest in Mangaluru recently that a Bangladesh-type agitation will be launched in the State to oust Governor Thawarchand Gehlot. Police did not register a case against the MLC even after filing a complaint, the MLA said.

He said that filing a case against the teacher indicated the Congress government’s interest in “snubbing the pro-Hindu voices.”

Condemning the registration of case, president of Dakshina Kannada unit of the BJP Satish Kumpala said in a statement that the government should withdraw the case.

Published - October 06, 2024 09:37 pm IST