Hundreds of Congress workers belonging to the Muslim community resigned en masse today in Mangaluru, in protest against the murders of young men from the community in the coastal region.
The resignations took place at a protest meet where they demanded stringent action.
Those gathered expressed anger, accusing the state government of doing little to protect the interest of minorities and stop what they called "lip service". Many questioned why they should vote for the party.
Earlier today, former Mayor of Mangaluru -- K Ashraf -- stepped down from the post of the vice president of the Dakshina Kannada District Congress Committee, citing the state's failure to check the spate of communal violence and hate crimes.
The trigger for the meeting - called by Muslim leaders - was the murder of Abdul Rahman in Dakshina Kannada.
The 32-year-old secretary of the Koltamajalu Jumma Masjid, was ambushed along with his colleague Kalandar Shafi, 29.
The murders took place less than a month after a right-wing member, Suhas Shetty, was killed in the same district, fuelling speculation that this was a case of retaliatory violence.
Following orders of strong action from Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, three people have been arrested in the case.
The state government has also decided to launch a special unit -- Communal Violence Control Force -- to curb communal strife that has led to a series of revenge killings in Mangaluru, Udupi and Shivamogga districts.
