MANGALURU: Congress MLC Ivan D'souza sparked controversy by warning the Karnataka Governor Thawarchand Gehlot of meeting the same fate as that of the previous Bangladesh Prime Minister who had to flee following protests.
Ivan during the protest called by Dakshina Kannada district Congress against Karnataka Governor Thawarchand Gehlot's consent to prosecute chief minister Siddaramaiah in the alleged MUDA scam, warned that the President must call back the governor if not the latter would face a similar situation that of the Bangladesh PM who had to flee the country.
"Our next step is to hold the Raj Bhavan Chalo movement. The Governor has become the puppet in the hands of the BJP. The Governor is a thief and a fraud. The governor has to withdraw his consent for the CM's prosecution if not we will seize the Governor's office," he warned. Meanwhile, Dakshina Kannada district BJP has demanded the police to lodge a suo moto case against Ivan.
Later the protest took a violent turn as protesters resorted to stone pelting at vehicles, burning tyres and road blockades on Monday. Mangaluru city police detained several Congress workers and leaders. A Congress worker who pelted stones at a private bus and damaged the windshield was also detained.
Congress leaders Harish Kumar, Prakash Rathod, and Ramanath Rai alleged that it is a ploy of the BJP to destabilise the state government and tarnish the image of the 'Mr Clean CM' and daydream of returning to power. The protesters earlier took out a protest march from Ladyhill to Lalbagh.