BENGALURU: Dramatic scenes were witnessed in the central parts of Bengaluru on Tuesday as thousands of Congress workers and farmers joined the party’s call for a protest rally against the Union Government’s farm bills. Thousands sporting green shawls and waving Congress flags, gathered at the Sangolli Rayanna statue near City Railway Station even as hundreds started gathering at Freedom Park.
Amid heavy police deployment, the protesters marched from the City Railway Station to Freedom Park, led by Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president D K Shivakumar, Opposition Leader in the Legislative Assembly Siddaramaiah and other leaders almost entirely occupying the Anand Rao Circle flyover at one point.
Congress leaders appeal to Governor
Estimates by the party and the police put the crowd at anywhere between 12,000-20,000 as farmers’ groups from different parts of the state too joined in. Earlier in the day, Shivakumar alleged that hundreds of protesters were stopped from entering the city and participating in the protest. Ugly scenes were witnessed near Freedom Park as Congress workers and police jostled with each other around in an attempt to stop protesters from gheraoing the Raj Bhavan. “Farmers have been braving biting cold at night along Delhi’s borders protesting against these three farm laws.
The Congress party stands firmly behind the farmers,” said a thunderous Shivakumar as he addressed a gathering of protesters at Freedom Park after the rally. With crowds exceeding expectations, traffic jams caused severe inconvenience to commuters in the central areas of the city. When the protesters tried to march towards Raj Bhavan from Freedom Park, the police cracked down on them, detaining dozens including senior Congress leaders. “Peaceful protest is a democratic right. It is the Opposition’s duty to question the government.
The B S Yediyurappa- led government and the police are disrupting peaceful protests and destroying democracy,” yelled Siddaramaiah from the window of a bus he was dragged into by the police after being detained. The leaders, who were released after some time, made a representation to Governor Vajubhai Vala. A delegation of Congress leaders including Shivakumar, Siddaramaiah, Mallikarjun Kharge, Dr G Parameshwara and H K Patil submitted a three-page memorandum demanding rollback of the three farm laws and a public apology from Prime Minister Narendra Modi for enacting the laws.
The memorandum also demanded a special sitting of Parliament to discuss the reforms and an additional amendment that makes MSP (minimum support price) mandatory for all crop purchases. As thousands marched against the farm laws, the BJP lashed out at the Congress for allegedly misleading people with lies. “It is very clear that the APMCs will continue to function even after the #FarmLaws are implemented. Our farmers have the choice to sell their produce in APMCs or outside to private players. Why is @INCIndia spreading lies that APMCs will be shut down?” asked BJP National General Secretary C T Ravi in a series of tweets attacking the Congress. A host of BJP leaders joined in condemning the Congress protest over farm laws.