Tipu Jayanti celebrations, scaled down and held amid security, passed off peacefully across Karnataka on Thursday. Members of the BJP, who observed the day as ‘black day’, courted arrest in some places.
Kodagu, which witnessed violence last year, saw BJP leaders turning up at the Old Assembly Hall in Madikeri Fort and shouting slogans against the government. They were later arrested for violating Section 144 imposed across the district.
March to Assembly
At Bengaluru, members of the BJP, led by State president B.S. Yeddyurappa, staged a protest in front of Town Hall. The protesters, wearing black badges, shouted slogans against the government for holding the event. They accused the State government of dividing society. Traffic movement was disrupted for some time as hundreds of protesters tried to march towards the Vidhana Soudha.
Minister ‘caught’
The BJP demanded the resignation of Primary and Secondary Education Minister Tanvir Sait after visuals of him browsing through “objectionable” pictures of women on his phone during the State-sponsored Tipu Jayanti celebrations at Raichur were captured by a Kannada television channel.
While the BJP said he had no “moral right” to continue as Education Minister, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said he would inquire into the incident. He was allegedly browsing through the pictures as a lecture on Tipu Sultan was being delivered on the dais he shared as the district in-charge Minister.
Responding to the controversy, Mr. Sait said the image had popped up as he was scrolling through the messages to keep track of what was happening in his home district, Mysuru, during the celebrations. “I did not log on to any website or surf any portal. I don’t even know who sent the pictures,” he said, claiming he did not download them. The Minister said he was open to any inquiry, and would not step down from his post.
Working president of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee Dinesh Gundu Rao said: “Political leaders should lead by example.” He said the party would seek a report from him and examine the media footage. Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj H.K. Patil, however, defended Mr. Sait saying he was one of the “well-behaved Ministers” in the Cabinet. The BJP has decided to step up protests.
(With inputs from Raichur)
