Daijiworld Media Network - Bangalore (SP)

Bangalore, Sep 13: Hundreds of Congress workers from Urban and Rural districts converged near the Mahatma Gandhi statue here on Friday September 12 and held a rally protesting against the government's proposed action against the Catholic educational institutions which observed a day's bundh in protest against the atrocities being committed in Orissa against the Christian brethren.

The participants urged the state government to withdraw its decision to take action against the schools which participated in the agitation. Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president Mallikarjun Kharge, speaking to pressmen later, termed the government's move to initiate steps against the educational institutions as unconstitutional. He said that the institutions had resorted to democratic, peaceful protest and hence did not deserve to be punished. He went on to add that peaceful demonstrations, processions and other forms of peaceful protests were constitutional.

Kharge questioned as to what the government had done to the Akhila Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishat and RSS workers, who had launched violent protests when the JD (S) failed to hand over the state reins to the BJP last year.

The KPCC president said that the primary and secondary education minister was not in order in asking the education department officials to serve notices on these school managements and that these steps work to the detriment of the school children and their parents.