Withdraw affidavit on arecanut, DCC demands
Mangalore Today News Network
Mangaluru, Feb 20, 2018: Speaking to media February 19, Monday, Dakshina Kannada DCC spokesperson A C Vinayraj accused the Central government of failing to withdraw an affidavit submitted to the Supreme Court on a report claiming carcinogenic content in arecanut, even after four years of coming to power.
DCC spokesperson said, “Narendra Modi, during his visit to the coastal districts as a part of election campaign during the last Lok Sabha elections, had promised to withdraw the affidavit on arecanut. Believing Modi, several arecanut growers voted for the BJP, however, even after four years, the arecanut growers are in distress.”
Minister’s statement : Vinayraj expressed dissatisfaction over the statement made by Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Anupriya Patel in the Lok Sabha on December 22, 2017 that consumption of supari would lead to oral squamous cancer.
He urged Dakshina Kannada MP Nalin Kumar Kateel to release the documents pertaining to raising of any question related to arecanut growers and withdrawal of the affidavit in the Supreme Court.
The Union government should provide statistics to prove carcinogenic content in arecanut, the spokesperson demanded.
Communal harmony : He appealed to BJP national president Amit Shah not to trigger any communal disturbances through provocative speeches in Dakshina Kannada district.
Launching a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Amit Shah for their allegations of rampant corruption in Karnataka, he urged Shah to release documents to prove corruption in Karnataka. Further, he said it was Amit Shah’s son who was involved in corruption that led to a multi-fold increase in his business fortunes.
He urged Amit Shah to allow the enforcement directorate to conduct a probe into the corruption allegations on his son, Jay Shah.
Vinayraj also sought to know why Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley are silent on the Punjab National Bank’s scandal. “Although the BJP manifesto had promised to create two crore jobs annually, Amit Shah, while addressing students at Puttur should clarify on the number of jobs created during the NDA tenure in the Centre,” demanded the spokesperson.
‘Arecanut growers need not panic’
Union Minister for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Anantkumar Hegde said that it is not possible to believe that arecanut is harmful to health and has carcinogenic content in it. An effort would be made to carry out a study on arecanut by CPCRI or other well established institutes. Arecanut growers need not panic, he said.
He said the statement made by Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Anupriya Patel in the Lok Sabha on December 22, 2017 that consumption of supari would lead to oral squamous cancer has created confusion among growers. Arecanut would be once again tested. “I am also an arecanut grower. I know much about arecanut. We have already spoken to the Union Minister and appraised her of the issue,” he said.
Laying the foundation for the building of Narendra PU College, a unit of Vivekananda Vidyavardhaka Sangha, he said there is a need to give task for the talent of students. “If we sow dreams in their minds, they can do wonders,” he said.