Times of India
Mangalore, Dec 9: The Bharatiya Janata party (BJP), which was peeved at being neglected by the authorities for inaugural function of the broad gauge section between Subrahmanya Road and Sakleshpur and flagging off train services between Mangalore and Bangalore here on Saturday, got a chance to vent its ire when MLC Ganesh Karnik, a special invitee, was prevented by the police from entering the stage area.
Karnik, despite having recognized by a sub-inspector, was asked to take the VVIP/ Press entrance. After taking the other entrance, Karnik raised a hullabaloo, saying he would not participate in the function, which brought all top police officials to the VVIP area.
Karnik wanted the S-I to tender an apology in front of all, to which SP Sateesh Kumar refused, saying that it couldn’t be done.
When Inspector General Police (western range) A M Prasad tried to placate the irritated MLC, Karnik refused to budge. MLC Shoba Karandlaje also added her voice protesting the “insult”.
When Prasad offered to apologize for the conduct of the police officer, BJP state president D V Sadananda Gowda told Karnik to stay put. Karnik also said it was not a question of failing to recognize an MLC, “but gross misbehaviour”. He said people who knew VIPs should have been posted at the entrance to stage area. Prasad said he was just managing the security and it couldn’t be taken lightly.
However after half-an-hour drama, Prasad managed to convince Karnik to attend the function. Later Gowda told reporters that this was an attempt to sideline the BJP and it would not succeed. “Politicization of development works was a shameful act,” he said, blaming the Congress. “We did not to obstruct the inauguration of a good work which would benefit the people. That’s why we did not carry it forward,” he added.