Former Chief Minister and president of the BJP State unit B.S. Yeddyurappa came down heavily on Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Home Minister G. Parameshwara for what he called “ham-handed” handling of the leave protest planned by the police personnel in the State.
Mr. Yeddyurappa told presspersons here on Friday that the crackdown on the Akhila Karnataka Police Mahasabha and arresting its President Shashidhar Venugopal and slapping sedition charge against him was unwarranted. The issue could have been handled effectively by inviting the office-bearers of the Mahasabha for talks and finding a solution to the problems faced by the police personnel. The BJP leader demanded that the State government immediately release Mr. Shashidar Venugopal and withdraw the sedition charge filed against him and invite the Mahasabha leaders for talks.
Mr. Yeddyurappa said that there was no need for invoking the Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA) to avert the strike. “Such high-handed actions would only demoralise the police force and this would have an impact on the law and order in the State. You cannot antagonise police personnel and run the administration”.
Asked whether the BJP supported the call of the Mahasabha for en masse leave by the police personnel, he said that the BJP neither supported or opposed the call as the police personnel were the best judges on the issue. It was the primary duty of the State government to hear the grievances of the police personnel and solve them.
He said the BJP had been demanding for the past 15 days that the State government convene a meeting with the Mahasabha and avert the strike, but neither the Chief Minister nor the Home Minister were interested in finding a solution and opted for a “collision course.”
