Congress makes its move in Sindagi over Pakistani flag hoisting

It was an act of sedition that rocked Sindagi when the Pakistani flag was hoisted in the taluk's administrative headquarters. But, it is now taking political intonations as the Congress is preparing to use the incident as a launch pad to attack its traditional rivals- the Sangh Parivar and Hindu fringe groups.

"It is not connected to our region but we Congressmen consider the incident as an act of treason and an attack on the sovereignty of the country. We do not wish to politicise the event but we will be failing in our duty if we did not expose the fringe groups and their designs," said B Ramanatha Rai, MLA from Buntwal.

"We do not distinguish between the Sri Rama Sene, Bajrang Dal or any other saffron brigade outfits. Their modus operandi is the same - to engineer communal clashes and thereafter persecute minorities. In the Sindagi case, their ploy has been exposed due to the quick action of the police in arresting the culprits. Otherwise, the blame would have been put on the minorities" Rai said.

"This incident has vindicated the stand of the Congress in many cases of sedition in the past. Several communal riots in Mangalore, Mysore, and other places had taken place for strange reasons since 1996. Now, when we analyse the conditions that led to the clashes, we see the hand of fringe groups engineering the clashes. It is time that the BJP as a political party washes its hands off from the fringe groups- that is if they believe in democracy," said UT Khader, MLA of Mangalore.

Former Rajya Sabha MP and the KPCCI president B Janardhana Poojary said: "The Sindagi incident has proved that the Hindu fringe groups were also active in terror activities. The country can always counter terror from across the border effectively, but it would be difficult to control it when it is being brewed within the country by our own people. We need to sit up and take notice of this incident."