Bengaluru, Jul 12 (IANS): Karnataka Police on Friday detained state BJP leaders for staging a protest in support of their demand for Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's resignation in the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) land scam case.
High drama prevailed when police personnel took the BJP leaders and party workers into custody.
A heated argument broke out between the protesters and the police. The BJP leaders and party workers, who were to begin the 'Mysuru Chalo' march, blocked the Bengaluru-Mysuru Expressway near Kanminake following which they were detained.
Meanwhile, BJP workers staged a protest in Mysuru city in the absence of state party leaders.
State BJP President and MLA B.Y. Vijayendra criticised the police action and said the government's sins were "overflowing, and it could fall at any moment".
Speaking to media representatives while preparing to go to Mysuru, he said that the Siddaramiah government would be responsible for inciting unrest across the state through these arrests.
Vijayendra said former Minister Nagendra has been arrested by the ED, the case should now be handed over to CBI, and the Chief Minister should resign.
He condemned the suppression of the protest as an "unforgivable crime". He criticised the authorities for arresting their leaders, tearing down their banners and flags near NICE Road in Bengaluru, and destroying the food brought for the activists.
Vijayendra accused CM Siddaramaiah's government of oppression and of attempting to establish a Tughlaq-like regime. He asserted that the BJP and its workers would not be intimidated by this action.
"The Congress government looted funds reserved for the development of Dalits through the Valmiki Corporation and used it for elections. They have turned the state into an ATM for Congress, sending money from Karnataka to Rahul Gandhi," he alleged.
He also accused the Chief Minister of distributing plots to his family through the MUDA scam. He claimed that this Rs 5,000 crore scam involved allocating plots to Congress people.