Daijiworld Media Network
Bengaluru, March 22: The Karnataka bandh called on Saturday to condemn the attacks on RTC drivers for not speaking Marathi in Belagavi and Maharashtra received a mixed response across the state. Thousands of Kannada activists staged protests at district headquarters, with hundreds being detained by police.
The protestors presented around 20 demands to the government concerning the Kannada language and the welfare of the state. Tight security arrangements were made in Bengaluru, where the police denied permission for Kannada activists to stage a protest at Town Hall, a major junction in the city.
At the venue, police outnumbered the protesters and transported them to Freedom Park in RTC buses. Fifteen RTC buses were stationed at the site, and as protesters gathered, they were loaded onto these buses and taken to Freedom Park.
Permission for a protest march from Town Hall to Freedom Park was also denied, given Town Hall’s location in a key junction of Bengaluru’s Central Business District. Any disruption at this location was expected to have far-reaching consequences.
In Belagavi, where the initial attack on Karnataka RTC staff for not speaking Marathi occurred — leading to similar attacks on drivers from Maharashtra in Karnataka and vice versa — the bandh was total. Buses from Maharashtra did not enter Karnataka, and security was heightened to protect the large Marathi-speaking population in the bordering region.
The bandh also saw strong participation in Mandya, Chikkamagaluru, Bagalkot, Hubballi-Dharwad, Chamarajanagar, Bidar, and several other districts. However, in some areas, the response was partial and mixed.
Vatal Nagaraj, chairman of Kannada Okkuta (Federation of Kannada Organisations), an umbrella body of pro-Kannada and other groups, declared that the state-wide bandh was successful.
"I congratulate all activists and organisations across the state for participating in the protest. The bandh has been total in all districts," he stated.
He went on to criticise the Bengaluru police’s actions, saying, "We have presented our demands to the government, the people, and the nation. The Bengaluru police acted with high-handedness to obstruct the bandh, arresting about 3,000 Kannada activists on Friday night alone. They also indiscriminately served notices," he alleged.
Nagaraj further criticised Bengaluru's Police Commissioner B Dayananda, stating, "It seems he has taken it upon himself to ensure the bandh does not succeed. The previous Commissioner, Bhaskar Rao, entered politics after retirement. If the current Commissioner has similar plans, he is welcome to pursue them," he said scathingly.
"The police insist that protests be staged at Freedom Park, which cannot even accommodate one percent of Bengaluru’s population. The Police Commissioner should conduct himself with dignity. I strongly disapprove of the attempts to suppress the bandh," he added.
"We have the capability to ensure that not even a drop of water is available to people during a bandh. This agitation will not stop here — it is a warning to the government. The authorities systematically used the police to prevent the bandh. But why are we protesting? Who are we protesting for? It is for the welfare of the state. Yet, the government has gone to the extent of trying to suppress the bandh," he concluded.
In closing, Nagaraj expressed gratitude to the media and the people of Karnataka for their support. "I congratulate the media and the people of the state for making this bandh a success despite all the challenges," he said.