Author: Pioneer News Service
Publication: The Pioneer
Date: October 14, 2008
The Chief Ministers of Karnataka and Orissa,
the two States where communal violence prompted the Central Government to
call the National Integration Council (NIC) meeting, have shot back at their
critics for trying to "frame" the State Governments "without
any reason".
Seeking to deflect attention from the Bajrang
Dal, Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday said the recent incidents
of violence were a manifestation of the "conflict of interest" between
Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
Speaking at the NIC meeting, Patnaik referred
to the two incidents of communal violence in Kandhamal and said there were
clashes between members of SC and ST communities in the past "on account
of the conflict of interest in the matter of land rights, employment opportunities
and religion".
"The recent incidents of violence in
Kandhamal are a manifestation of such discord," he said about the district
where STs constitute 53 per cent of the population and SCs constitute 22 per
cent.
Patnaik insisted that the State had been having
an "excellent track record of communal harmony" for eight years,
"barring the two sets of incidents in one district" - Kandhamal.
With his Government facing flak over recent
attacks against churches, Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa blamed certain
Christain organisations for flaring up "disharmony and social tension"
in the State.
"While Christians and Hindus have co-existed
peacefully in the State, there have been unconstitutional and illegal efforts
by some Christian organisations, such as 'New Life', to forcibly convert or
to induce conversion to Christianity," he told the NIC meeting.
"Efforts of such organisations include
publishing booklets like 'Satya Darshini' in which Hindu gods and goddesses
were denigrated. Our constitution provides for freedom of religion but does
not permit forcible or induced conversion," he said.
He also criticised some Union Ministers and
alleged political vendetta. "It was very unfortunate that our State was
targeted for political vendetta by Ministers and officials of the Government
of India," he said.
He stressed that there was no need to send
Central advisories or rush a team to Karnataka in the aftermath of the attacks
on minorities. "There have been serious communal and terrorists activities
in other States such as Jammu and Kashmir, Assam, Tripura, Delhi and Andhra
Pradesh. The Union Government was not so active in sending advisory notes
at times touted as notices (under Article 355) to these States," he added.
