Mangaluru: Popular Front of India has hailed Chief Minister Siddaramaiah led Karnataka government for deciding to drop cases against dozens of Popular Front of India activists, accused of involving in communal riots in different parts of the state in recent years.

Mohamed Shakib, PFI state president, has welcome the step and described it as a bold decision of the state government to withdraw cases booked against “innocents” by the erstwhile “communal regime” in Karnataka in the past.

“We see this as a very bold step second in the series, taken by the CM Siddaramaiah after the decision to conduct the caste wise survey in Karnataka,” said Mohamed Shakib, PFI state presided. “We congratulate the chief minister for this courageous step,” he added.

K Pratapsimha Nayak, president, DK district unit of BJP, said the decision to withdraw cases smacks in face of fact that PFI and Karnataka Forum for Dignity volunteers indulged in large scale arson, and caused damage to public property in Udayagiri and Narasimharaja police station limits of Mysuru in April 2009 besides attacking the policemen on bandobast duties. Mysuru City Police had registered 40 different cases in this connection and named 241 persons as accused.

Hassan and Shivamogga saw communal clashes over a Kannada daily publishing a translated version of Bangladeshi writer Tasleema Nasreen’s work Parda Hai Parda resulting in serious loss to public property. While 114 cases were registered in Shivamogga, 21 cases were registered in Hassan, Pratapsimha said adding 1,400 persons were considered as accused in these two districts. The state cabinet decision to withdraw these cases is appeasement of minorities, he noted.

Mr Nayak said the move further erodes the morale of the police force, which had already been dented with political interventions in illegal cattle transportation and other kinds of smuggling. The government was resorting to cheap publicity tactics. It had not thought about the long-term impact of the decision, he added.

(Agencies)