MANGALURU: Police foiled BJP workers’ attempt to storm the DC office during the Mangaluru Chalo rally here on Thursday.
Thousands of BJP workers who had gathered at Jyoti Circle were on their way to the DC office 3 km away when they were bundled into buses and taken into custody.
But hundreds of them managed to find their way to the DC office where police resorted to mild lathicharge to disperse them. Police also seized several motorcycles when party workers tried to take out a bike rally. Former deputy chief minister R Ashok was overpowered by cops when he tried lead the bike rally.
Earlier, senior BJP leaders who addressed the party workers condemned the Siddaramaiah government for failing to stop murders of Hindu activists. They accused the Congress government of protecting the assailants. B S Yeddyurappa said the Congress is shaken by the BJP agitation and hence did not allow the party to take out a bike rally.
MP Prahlad Joshi accused state government of trying to silence Ganesh Chaturthi mics and dared to do the same to loudspeakers that blare at 5 am every day.
The BJP which was allowed to hold a public meeting at Nehru Maidan did not hold it. Instead the leaders spoke at Jyoti Circle from where a bike rally was planned. Traffic came to a grinding halt at several places in the city centre due to the protest.