Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru

Mangaluru, Sep 8: Mangaluru was tense on September 6 and 7, due to the 'Mangaluru Chalo' called by BJP Yuva Morcha demanding ban on some organisations including PFI. A large number of citizens prefered to stay home in anticipation of untoward incidents in the city. As there was no full-fledged permision from the police, the task of handling the rally was challenging to the cops. But when BJP's rally came to an end without any major trouble despite an estimated 5,000 people having gathered around Jyothi circle, mostly from outside Mangaluru, the police force received huge appreciation from citizens and others.

"Though there were several tense moments during the event, police were calm and handled the situation without retaliating. In case the police had lost patience, the situation would have been different. On a couple of occasions, there was resistance from protestors who crossed barricades, but the police handled them smoothly, even though some police officers were even injured and their uniform torn," said a journalist who arrived from Mysuru to cover the 'Mangaluru Chalo' news.

"One must appreciate the circle inspector of Kadri Maruthi Nayak, who did not get provoked by the harsh and abusive language used by MP Nalin Kumar. There were instances of provocative kind of speeches from some of the speakers in the rally also," said another journalist who arrived from outside the district.

"We always criticise the police when something goes wrong, but sometimes we must appreciate when they do a good job. Hopefully, Mangaluru will be peaceful for ever," said a senior citizen when asked about the event.

Police deployed for the protest consisted of one team of Rapid Action Force, 15 KSRP platoons, 15 CAR platoons, eight SP level officers, 12 DySPs, 30 circle inspectors, 60 sub-inspectors, 600 constables and home guards.

Police managed to foil the bike rally planned by the BJP Yuva Morcha, as only a handful bikers managed to escape from police. Notably, MP Nalin Kumar Kateel and MLA CT Ravi both managed to ride through.

Former commissioner of Mangaluru city, Chandra Sekhar was reportedly overseeing the arrangements and guiding the force from behind the scene. Under the leadership of Mangaluru police commissioner T Suresh Kumar, the entire force was ready to face any untoward incidents in the rally. When the entire nation's eyes were on Mangaluru, the Mangaluru police delivered.

While BJP claimed the rally as huge success, Congress and other opposition parties claimed 'Mangaluru Chalo' as 'Flop show'