Vatal Nagaraj, Govindu held in Vijayapura

Vijayapura Police stopped Vatal Nagaraj and Sa Ra Govindu, and other Kannada activists, on the outskirts of the city on Wednesday morning, to prevent them from holding a meeting about the proposed Karnataka Bandh.

A section of Kannada organisations have called for a bandh on December 5, opposing establishment of a Maratha Development Corporation

A team of officers led by additional SP Ram Arasiddhi took the two activists into custody at the entrance near Hittinahalli. They were taken to a guest house later.

Mr Nagaraj argued with the police who came to arrest him. He told journalists that Chief Minister B S Yediyurppa was behind his arrest. “It is a matter of shame that the CM has planned this. It is an insult to the pride of Kannadigas,” he said.

Mr. Govindu said that the fight of Kannada organisations was not against the Maratha community, but against the appeasement of Marathi speakers by the State government for electoral gains.

We want all communities to prosper on this land. But we want primacy to Kannada, Mr Govindu said.