New road named after Nathuram Godse in Udupi district

Karkala (Udupi district): In an embarrassing development for the BJP government that is already facing flak for a slew of pro-Hindutva policies recently, a newly constructed road in Bola village panchayat in Karkala taluk has been named after Nathuram Godse, the assassin of the Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi. Shortly after the signboard surfaced, it was removed by the officials of the grama panchayat. The signboard read: 'Padugiri Nathuram Godse Road'.

The sign painted black on a yellow background on a concrete slab, was in sync with the officially approved design.

The Panchayat Development Officer (PDO) received a volley of calls about the signboard. Within a few hours, the officials took down the signboard and safely kept it for police inquiry.

Following a complaint from the panchayat officials, police registered a case of vandalism and are looking for the people behind thr incident.

The newly laid out road has not been assigned any name as it's a complex process and it becomes a postal identity of the road. It also requires passing of a resolution in the general body meeting of the panchayat concerned.

After the incident went viral on social media, State Energy Minister V Sunil Kumar in whose Karkala Assembly constituency the incident happedned, decried the incident and claimed that it might have been the handiwork of vandals in the area. "Neither the government nor panchayat officials had installed the sign board. This was a work that wanted to fuel political passions," he added.

Rajendra, PDO of the Bola gramme panchayat, said the road to Padugiri was recently laid, thanks to Karkala taluk panchayat funds and it connects Padugiri, where roughly five houses are located.

A resident in the area, on condition of anonymity, told Hans News Service that a few people not known to this area had come last Thursday and were identifying the spot. Curious about their presence I asked them what was the matter, and one of them spoke in Kannada in Bayaluseeme accent told him that they were looking for a spot for the signboard for the newly concretised road. The residents are quite unaware of the name assigned to the road. However, before they could make any further inquiries on Saturday morning the residents had seen the signboard already installed.

Karkala taluk Youth Congress president Yogish Inna said, "We have some leads about the perpetrators of this impropriety and we have already told the police our views."