Congress government suppressing Hindu culture, traditions, alleges BJP

The BJP alleged that the Congress-led State government is suppressing Hindu culture and traditions after the traditional cockfight was stopped from being conducted at Kepu village of Bantwal taluk on December 20 and 21. Addressing press persons at the BJP party office in Mangaluru on December 22, Captain Brijesh Chowta, Dakshina Kannada MP, claimed that the traditional cockfight held in the village had 800 years of history. It is associated with Tulu culture and traditions. Even though no gambling was involved in the cockfight, the government used the police to stop it. “Following an anti-Hinduism policy has become a regular pattern of the ruling Congress government,” Capt. Chowta alleged. The MP said that during Krishna Janmashtami celebrations in the district this year, police seized loudspeakers during the night and also interfered in Yakshagana performances. Though district in-charge Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao had promised that the government would not interfere in the traditional practices of the coastal belt, Capt. Chowta alleged that now, the government is acting otherwise. Y. Bharat Shetty, Mangaluru city North MLA, asked why the government is not stopping the killings of sheep if it halted the cockfight by attributing the reason to “cruelty to animals”. Dr. Shetty claimed that the cockfight in the village had been taking place for any years, but the police had not filed any case under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, which came into force in 1960. “Why did the government interfere in the cockfight by filing cases only now, so many years since the Act came into force?” he questioned. The MLA alleged that the government is selectively targeting Hindu traditions, though no gambling was involved in the cockfight. D. Vedavyasa Kamath, Mangaluru city South MLA, alleged that though there are many illegal slaughter houses in the district, the government did not curb them. Meanwhile, the police, stating that the cockfight was illegal, had seized hens and sharp objects used in the fights, apart from taking many people into custody. The police filed a case under Sections 189 (2), 49, 221, 223, and 190 of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, and Sections 3 and 11 of Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act. Published - December 22, 2025 10:59 pm IST

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