MYSURU : The police on Saturday detained leaders and activists of the Dalit Sangharsh Samiti (DSS) who had planned to stage a ‘Go Back Modi’ protest against Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to Mysuru.
The DSS had announced a protest march from the Clock Tower on the Manasagangotri campus to the Viveka Smaraka on Narayana Shastri Road. However, police intervened before the demonstration could begin and detained the protesters near the Clock Tower.
Ahead of the protest, DSS district convener Choranahalli Shivanna was taken into preventive custody by the Alanahalli police from his residence on Friday night. Despite his detention, DSS activists, led by state convener Yedathore Mahadevaiah, gathered near the Clock Tower to proceed with the protest.
The police held discussions with the DSS leaders for more than an hour, urging them to withdraw their protest plans. The activists requested permission to hold a symbolic five-minute demonstration, assuring the police that they would not take out a protest march. However, the request was denied.
Addressing the gathering before being detained, Mahadevaiah said that peaceful protest was a constitutional right and alleged that the police were denying them that right.
He also criticised the inauguration of the Viveka Smaraka, alleging that it had been constructed after the demolition of the NTM Girls School by the Ramakrishna Ashram.