BENGALURU: Police detained farmers and Eddelu Karnataka volunteers protesting against land acquisition at Channarayapatna Hobli in Devanahalli on Wednesday.
The demonstration, which began peacefully with a collective pledge by residents of 13 villages, took a dramatic turn by evening. The police took 52 protesters into preventive custody and later released them. Among the detainees was actor Prakash Raj. The police action was condemned by civil society.
Eddelu Karnataka’s Tara Rao criticised the government’s actions as “heavy-handed” and “undemocratic”. She accused the Congress of reversing its stand on the issue after coming to power.
“The land acquisition was initiated by the previous government. At the time, the Congress opposed it. Now they’ve gone ahead with the very same project,” she added.
The farmers, who have resisted displacement for over 1,100 days, took a pledge in front of representatives from people’s movements, saying, “Even if we lose our lives, we will never sell this soil. No matter how much you trouble us, we will never allow this green land to be destroyed.”
The government is yet to issue a response to the police action or the accusations of policy reversal.