It was hours of high drama as the police aborted the ‘Mangaluru Chalo’ bike rally organised by the Bharatiya Janata Party Yuva Morcha in Bengaluru and Hubballi on Tuesday. Minutes after it was flagged off, hundreds of workers and prominent leaders were detained.
The police had denied permission for the rally across the State on Monday, despite which the BJP went ahead with the rally.
The rally was held to demand a ban on People’s Front of India (PFI) and Socialist Democratic Party of India (SDPI), whose workers have been accused of murdering right-wing activists in the State.
At the Bengaluru rally, several BJP leaders pointed fingers at the minority community obliquely. Former Home Minister R. Ashok said that under the Siddaramaiah government, Mangaluru, Mysuru and Bengaluru had turned “safe havens for Islamic terrorists” and the government was playing vote bank politics siding with them. Slogans were raised terming Mr. Siddaramaiah and the Congress government “anti-Hindu”.
The BJP leaders also came down heavily on the clamp down against the rally, with Mr. Ashok calling Mr. Siddaramaiah a “despot” and terming the State government “undemocratic”. “I was the Home Minister when Mr. Siddaramaiah led a padayatra to Ballari against illegal mining. We were democratic and gave permission for the rally, unlike him,” Mr. Ashok said.
In Hubballi, senior leader Jagadish Shettar said Mr. Siddaramaiah was behaving “akin to Indira Gandhi” and his actions reminded people of the Emergency regime.
Workers from other districts of Kolar, Ballari, Gadag, Belagavi and Bagalkot were also detained when they attempted to take out a bike rally. The BJP claimed that over 4,000 workers were detained across the State, while Home Minister Ramalinga Reddy said it was only 800.
Protest rally
The BJP leaders resolved to hold a protest rally in Mangaluru on Thursday. The Yuva Morcha is all set to take out bike rallies in Mysuru, Shivamogga, Chikkamagaluru and Kodagu on Wednesday, where the local police administrations have declined permission, setting the stage for another confrontation.
Meanwhile, Mr. Reddy said they were open to allowing the BJP to hold a peace rally in Mangaluru, if the party sought permission through proper channels.
