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'The fight was against those who were being immoral. Not once was there any directive from me or anyone to beat up women,' says Pramod Muthalik, the man behind the shameful Mangalore pub attack incident
Pramod Muthalik, chief of rabid right-wing outfit Shri Ram Sene, is upset with the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Understandably so, as the BJP first inducted him, a former member, with much fanfare only to unceremoniously dump him after his induction caused outrage on social media.
Muthalik is best remembered for the Mangalore pub attack incident, when members of the Shri Ram Sene were caught on camera thrashing women patrons for daring to visit a pub.
But Muthalik claims that the BJP top brass should have considered his immense contribution to the party before dumping him like a hot potato.
Here, he shares his many grievances with Rediff.com’s Vicky Nanjappa
On his future course of action:
I will continue to support Narendra Modi as the prime ministerial candidate. My organisation the Shri Ram Sene will not contest the Lok Sabha elections but we will campaign for the BJP.
A leader like Modi is good for the country.
I will wait for the Karnataka unit of the BJP to speak to their national leaders and convince them about me campaigning for the party.
On his induction and removal from the BJP:
That was nothing but a hasty decision. I want to ask all these people on social media and the national leaders who opposed my entry -- do they know how much work I have done for the party?
Today, the BJP has a standing in Karnataka because of people like me who have worked tirelessly for the party.
There has been a lot of hypocrisy about the issue.
Ask anyone and they will tell you what I have done for the BJP. I have fought for so many issues, even gone to jail for the party and today, they treat me this way.
I never once asked them for a favour.
All I wanted was to see the BJP becoming a major force in the state. Now, just because of some misinterpreted information, they have stalled my induction.
You will never understand how much this hurts. I am extremely pained but I will stand by the BJP as it is a party that we have built over a period of time.
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh had approved my induction and even the state unit had given its nod.
On his rigid Hindutva agenda:
Why does everyone make such a big deal about this? I am propagating Hindutva, unlike several others who have been involved in corruption cases.
Has fighting for Hindutva become wrong now?
Is shielding the corrupt and welcoming them into the party all right?
I had no intention of grabbing power or making money by joining the BJP. I did not want the Hindu votes to split and so I decided to help during the campaign.
There are a lot of people who are to be blamed for this. The Congress, in fact, decided to make a big issue out of it.
The voters are not blind; they have watched all this and the Congress will learn its lesson in the elections.
On members of Sri Ram Sene members attacking women at a Mangalore pub:
Our intention was never to hit the women. I have apologised over and over for this.
The fight was against those who were being immoral. Not once was there any directive from me or anyone to beat up women.
We were trying to say something about culture and values.
I even went to jail for 15 days in this case. Let the courts decide the matter. Why is everyone jumping the gun?
Image: Pramod Muthalik ' Photograph Courtesy: http://www.sriramasena.org/