(Image source from: Timesofindia.Com)

K’taka BJP Workers Detained For Carrying Out A Bike Rally:- The Karnataka BJP workers have been detained by the police, in Bengaluru on Tuesday when the youth wing of the party decided to take out a bike rally.

To prevent the bikers to hold “Mangaluru Chalo rally”, a large team of police personnel was deployed at the route since morning. The bike rally was organized in protest against the alleged killings of BJP - RSS Hindu activists in the coastal districts. Several BJP workers were detained later.

Former deputy chief minister R Ashoka, Lok Sabha member Pratap Simha and MLAs Arvinda Limbavali and Satish Reddy were among the ones who were detained.

According to a leading news channel, Ashoka and other leaders sat in protest near the Freedom Park. They demanded that police furnish an arrest warrant, which eventually resulted in a heated argument between the officials and the leaders, following which they were frisked away.

(Video Source: NewsX)

The protest and resultant chaos lead to traffic snarls around Freedom Park which is located near one of the busiest junctions in the heart of the city, causing inconvenience to commuters. The BJP was denied permission on Monday, by the local police, to carry on with its protest plans. The prohibitory orders late on Monday were put in place by the Bengaluru police, while the permission to hold the rally was denied by the Mangaluru police.

On Monday, the BJP leaders alleged that with an intention to stop the rally, the government was creating a situation of an ‘undeclared bandh’. The leaders even asked the government not to stop the rally, being held democratically. The rally by the party’s youth wing was against the alleged murder of 18 Hindu activists and repeated incidents of violence against them in the coastal districts of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi.

An action was also sought against organizations like Popular Front of India, which the leaders term as “fundamentalist”. the leaders held district in-charge minister Ramanath Rai, holding responsible for the killings and demanded his resignation. According to the programme announced by BJP, the rally towards Mangaluru started from different places, including Bengaluru and Hubballi, on Tuesday and from Shivamoga, Mysuru and other nearby areas to Mangaluru on September 7.

Senior party leaders, including state unit chief B S Yeddyurappa, were expected to take part in the rally at Mangaluru on September 7. There were even reports of police crackdown on BJP workers who were going ahead with the rally in different parts of the state, including Bengaluru, Hubballi, Kalaburgi, Belagavi and Ballari. The BJP leaders have alleged that there were also incidents of lathi-charge on party activists.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had on Tuesday said, “We have no objections to do a rally...we have asked police to ensure that there is no disturbance to law and order and public.”

SUPRAJA