BENGALURU: Thousands of protesters gathered at Freedom Park on Tuesday, rallying against what they termed as undemocratic actions by Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot in granting sanction to prosecute Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in the MUDA site allotment case.
The protest and Raj Bhavan Chalo was organised by the Karnataka Shoshita Samudayagala Maha Okkuta. It was aimed at protecting democracy and condemning attempts by BJP and JDS to destabilise the Congress government by misusing the governor’s office, the protest organisers said.
The protesters said the governor’s move violates constitutional principles and democratic norms. The governor is acting in a biased manner by aligning with political parties to undermine a democratically elected government, they alleged. Okkuta president Ramachandra, Ram Manohar Lohia Vichara Vedike president BS Shivanna, Dalit Sangharsha Samithi president Mavalli Shankar, MLC Nagaraj Yadav and former mayors J Huchchappa and Manjunath Reddy led the protest. Former deputy mayor L Srinivas and former Congress leaders M Shivaraju and Udayshankar too joined the protest. The protesters were allowed to march for a little distance and were later sent back to Freedom Park by the police.
Protesters said the governor’s decision lacks merit and is politically motivated. They pointed out that despite several high-profile corruption cases against BJP and JDS leaders pending investigation, the governor has not taken similar action against them but singled out Siddaramaiah. This demonstrated a clear bias and a concerted effort to target the chief minister, they added.
“The governor has turned Raj Bhavan into an office for BJP and JDS. He is acting against the spirit of the Constitution and democracy. His actions are part of a conspiracy against the CM, who has done nothing wrong,” a speaker at the rally said. The protesters demanded immediate withdrawal of the sanction against Siddaramaiah and recall of the governor from the state. They said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah should stop toppling legitimately elected governments and instead respect the democratic process. The two leaders should refrain from using the governor’s office to interfere in the state’s political affairs, they added.
“We will not rest until justice is done. The fight for the Constitution, co-existence, and self-respect will continue,” one of the protesters said.