Udupi: Slamming the Janata Dal (S) candidate from the Udupi-Chikkamagaluru Lok Sabha constituency Pramodh Madwaraj’s statement that the Indian Navy killed the fishermen who were onboard the Suvarna Tribhuja, Udupi MLA Raghupathi Bhat said, “How can anybody blame the Indian Navy for the Suvarna Tribhuja tragedy. The Indian Armed Forces are sacrificing their lives for us. We have to respect our armed forces. If anybody suspects the Indian Navy let there be an enquiry or investigation. One cannot just blame the Navy without any proof. I condemn the opposition politicizing this issue.”
Speaking to reporters here, Bhat said, “By blaming the Indian Navy for the sinking of the Suvarna Tribhuja and the demise of the seven missing fishermen, Pramod Madhwaraj is showing his cheap mentality. It is possible that the INS Kochi clashed with the Suvarna Tribhuja resulting in its sinking. There should be an investigation into this issue, but blaming the whole Indian Navy is not acceptable.”
He then added that he had sought a meeting with Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy to discuss the issue of the Suvarna Tribhuja and the missing crew, but was denied an appointment. “Kumaraswamy has come here to relax and enjoy. He turned down an interaction with the media, which is wrong. As Chief Minister of Karnataka, it is his responsibility to answer the media and I condemn his act of turning them down,” Bhat added.
Attacking the CM further, he said, “Kumaraswamy is negligent of Karavali, yet he wants everything from Karavali, including resorts, treatments for health and all sorts of pleasures. He does not respond to any of the problems faced by the people of the Karavali region and has no respect for the region’s media.”
When asked for a reaction to the Hassan and Ramanagara districts standing first in the SSLC exams, Bhat said that there should be an enquiry into the matter. “The Udupi and Dakshina Kannada districts are known for quality education. If Hassan and Ramanagara have topped in the SSLC results, there has to be an investigation,” he said.
