Pics: Spoorthi Ullal
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru
Mangaluru, Feb 19: Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal staged a protest here at Clock Tower on Monday February 19, condemning the alleged incident which took place at St Gerosa School last week.
It may be recalled, Sr Prabha was alleged to have made some derogatory statements against the Hindu religion and the prime minister while teaching the poem ‘Work is Worship’ authored by Rabindranath Tagore to the students.
VHP and Bajrang Dal members demanded the withdrawal of case filed against MLAs Dr Bharath Y Shetty and Vedavyas Kamath and VHP regional joint secretary Sharan Pumpwell and corporators Bharat and Sandeep Garodi.
Addressing the protestors, Shivananda Mendon, VHP Dakshina Kannada district secretary said, "The incident that occurred in the school is known to everyone now. We are here to petition police commissioner Anupam Agarwal to file a case against Sr Prabha on charges of religious conversion. The VHP has been gathering information regarding remarks made by teachers at St Gerosa School for over a decade. However, now, thanks to our Prime Minister Modi, even the children have come to understand the importance of Lord Ram in our culture. Sr Prabha has not only made derogatory remarks about Lord Ram but has also spoken ill of Koragajja and Lord Ganesh. We will not tolerate injustice. She should be charged with attempting to convert children of our religion. We condemn the Congress government and challenge the police to arrest us. Our MLA Vedvyas Kamath, Dr Bharath Shetty Y, VHP leader Sharan Pumpwell, and other workers have raised the slogan of 'Jai Sri Ram'. If this is the reason for the case lodged against them, then arrest us as well. Following this event, we will peacefully march to the police commissioner's office to submit our letter to him. We urge the police to cooperate with us and allow us to meet the commissioner."
“No prior permission had been obtained from the police department for the protest. Therefore, they are permitted to protest only near the clock tower. However, if they attempt to leave this location, we will take action,” the police stated.
The police, who had assembled in large numbers and detained the protesting members.