Karnataka - Mysore   

Youth Congress workers clash at rally

MYSORE: Youth Congress activists clashed over the absence of the former Deputy Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s photographs in the placards and banners at a rally organised here on Wednesday to protest against the State Government’s decision to increase the retirement age of government employees.

When the activists gathered in front of the North Gate of the Mysore Palace to take out a procession, supporters of Mr. Siddaramaiah took exception to the absence of his photographs in the placards and banners at the venue.

The supporters of Mr. Siddaramaiah entered into an argument with other activists over the matter when Congress MLA and president of the Karnataka Pradesh Youth Congress Committee Krishna Byre Gowda arrived at the venue.

Mr. Siddaramaiah’s supporters said that the organisers had deliberately omitted his photographs in the publicity material.

The placards, banners and boards prepared for the procession had the photographs of other leaders of the Congress, including Rahul Gandhi, D.K. Shivakumar and Tanvir Sait.

“Though Mr. Siddaramaiah is a mass leader, a section of the organizers had deliberately kept his photographs out of banners and placards,” Mr. Siddaramaiah’s supporters alleged.

However, Mr. Krishna Byre Gowda tried to pacify Mr. Siddaramaiah’s supporters by claiming that the lapse had taken place inadvertently.

He sought to make amends by asking the activists not to display any banner or placard during the procession. The publicity material were collected and dumped in a car of a Congress activist.

The activists later marched through K.R. Circle and D. Devaraj Urs Road before reaching the Deputy Commissioner’s office, where a memorandum was submitted.

The Congress leaders criticised the Government’s decision to increase the retirement age of government employees from 58 to 60, stating that it would cause injustice to the youth, whose wait for employment would become longer.

“The Government should revoke this decision in the interests of the youth. The unemployment menace among the youth will become rampant by the Bharatiya Janata Party Government’s flawed policies,” a Congress leader said.

The former Union Minister V. Srinivas Prasad, MLC N. Manjunath, former MLA M.K. Somashekar, Dase Gowda and Dharmasena participated in the protest.

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