A video clip in which RSS leader Kalladkka Prabhakar Bhat making a controversial statement that Ullal town in Dakshina Kannada is “nothing but Pakistan” went viral on social media on Monday.
Mr. Bhat is said to have made the statement while addressing a closed-door programme as part of the Grama Vikasa Sapthaha at Keshava Shishu Mandira in Kinya village on the outskirts of the city on Sunday. In the video, Mr. Bhat is heard speaking on the “reducing number of Hindus” and expressing his fears that the Hindu culture, traditions, temples and daivasthans may come under threat in such circumstances.
Stating that the video clip of his speech which has gone viral was made at a convention held closed doors on Sunday, Mr. Bhat told The Hindu that he does not regret making the statement. “What I have said is based on facts and the situation on the ground,” he said.
Mangaluru MLA U.T. Khader, meanwhile, said that the statement by Mr. Bhat comparing Ullal with Pakistan was uncalled for. “With age catching up, Mr. Bhat does not know what he talks,” he said. Ullal is a land from where Rani Abbakka ruled and it is also a place where one can find places of worship of Hindus, Muslims and Jains. When people from different communities are living in harmony in Ullal, there was no reason to rake up a controversy, the MLA said.
