The police foiled a bid by BJP workers to lay a siege to the Congress office here on Thursday. They also took into custody BJP workers and later released them.
Nearly 50 BJP workers have been taken into custody when they tried to cordon off the District Congress Committee office in Dharwad.
High drama prevailed outside the Congress office located near the Tipu Circle as large numbers of BJP workers thronged the place as part of their plan to lay a siege to the Congress office.
The BJP workers said that the Congress was politicising the Mahadayi issue and took out a protest rally in the market area and staged a dharna in front of the Congress office.
Following the protest, additional police force was deployed near the Tipu Circle and even barricades were put up to foil any attempt by the BJP workers to picket the Congress office. As the protesters tried to rush into the office, the police intercepted them and foiled their attempt to picket the office.
Irked by this, the BJP workers entered into a heated argument with the police and tension prevailed for sometime.
When the BJP leaders did not heed their request, the police took them into custody. The former MLA Seema Masuti, the former Mayor Shivu Hiremath, Hubballi-Dharwad Municipal Corporation (HDMC) councillor Vijayananda Shetty and others led the agitation.
The BJP workers said that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Water Resources Minister M.B. Patil were misleading the people over the Mahadayi row. During his tenure as Deputy Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa had reserved ₹ 100 crore for this project, but the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh created technical and political hurdles, they added.
This apart, Congress leader Sonia Gandhi, in a public meeting in Goa, even went to the extent of saying that not a drop of water would be released to Karnataka, while there was the BJP government in Karnataka. Now, the BJP is once again making efforts to resolve the issue, but Mr. Siddaramaiah is giving misleading statements, they said.
As the situation turned tense, the police took into custody the protesting BJP workers and released them later.
In Hubballi, the police took into custody 75 BJP workers when they tried to forcibly barge into the Congress office located on Karwar Road. The BJP members staged a protest and tried to lay a siege to the office amid high police security, accusing the Congress of politicising the river water sharing issue. A large number of BJP activists took out a protest rally from Siddharoodha Mutt to the Congress office. They raised slogans against the Congress and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. The activists sat on dharna in front of the Congress office for a while.
Addressing the protesters, BJP leader Mahesh Tenginkai accused the Congress of politicising the issue. Farmers are being misguided by the Congress. The river water dispute had become a complex issue because of the Congress. It was because of the honest effort of the State BJP chief [Mr. Yeddyurappa] that Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar had agreed to hold talks”, he said.
A state of confusion was created when Congress workers who were inside the office premises started raising slogans hailing their leaders and the BJP protesters doing the same. The police understanding the situation immediately took the BJP workers into custody and later released them. The former MLA Ashok Katwe, Shankarnna Bijwad, Mallikarjun Sawakar, Shivanand Muttannavar and others were present.
