Protest mars Beary Bhavan foundation laying programme in Mangaluru
The Hindu
The foundation stone laying programme for the Beary Bhavan of the Karnataka Beary Sahitya Academy at Thokkottu near here on Saturday was marred by protests by activists of the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Veera Rani Abbakka Utsava Samithi, who demanded immediate construction of a Abbakka Bhavan.
Amid the controversy, V. Sunil Kumar, under whose Kannada and Culture Department the academy comes, remained absent for the ceremony.
Mr. Kumar, the district in-charge Minister, continued to attend other programmes in the city during the day. In his absence, former Minister and Mangaluru MLA U.T. Khader laid the foundation stone for the bhavan.
Speaking to the protesting activists, Mr. Khader said he had got the proposal for Abbakka Bhavan sanctioned when he was the Minister. “Now there is the BJP Government and nothing prevented you from getting funds for the Abbakka Bhavan. I too am for its construction,” Mr. Khader said.