Paswan dubs Mangalore incident as state sponsored

Coming down heavily on the BJP Government in Karnataka over the Mangalore pub incident, Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan on Monday claimed that the incident is "state sponsored."

Coming down heavily on the BJP Government in Karnataka over the Mangalore pub incident, Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan on Monday claimed that the incident is "state sponsored."

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"In whichever state the BJP has a government, such incidents keep on taking place. They (BJP) are denigrating the name of Lord Ram," Paswan told PTI.

About 15 to 20 activists, reportedly belonging to Sri Ram Sene, had barged into a local pub in Mangalore yesterday and bashed up women guests accusing them of behaving in an "obscene manner."

"The incident is state sponsored," the minister charged.

Describing organisations like Sri Ram Sena as a "threat to the country," he demanded that their activities should be probed and the government should take harshest possible action against them.

However, the BJP denied the party or the Sangh Parivar was involved in the incident and said those responsible for the "hooliganism" should be brought to justice.

BJP spokesman Ravi Shankar Prasad said, "the culprits are neither from the BJP nor from the Sangh Parivar. They are from an autonomous organisation" active in the area.