Congress set to begin padayatra despite restrictions by BJP govt in Karnataka

The Congress is hopeful of reviving its fortunes much like what it did in 2012 when Siddaramaiah, Shivakumar and RV Deshpande (then KPCC president) led the party to a 300-km padayatra to Ballari district over the illegal mining scam that allegedly involved then BJP minister, Gali Janardhana Reddy.

BENGALURU: Hundreds and thousands of people poured into Sangama, in Kanakpura taluk, to take part in the 10-day 100-km padayatra led by the Congress party in Karnataka.

DK Shivakumar, Karnataka Congress president, is also hoping to find his footing and get some traction in his favour within a visibly divided outfit torn between him and former chief minister Siddaramaiah. (Twitter/@DKShivakumar)

Leaders of the Congress party at the national, state, district and other local levels landed at the venue which resembles a large fair with performers, loudspeakers and huge stages to host the sea of people who are in Ramanagara on the first day of the march that is scheduled to cross 15 assembly seats before reaching the Basavanagudi grounds in state capital Bengaluru.

The padyatra, aimed at pressuring the Basavaraj Bommai-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to initiate work on the contentious Mekedatu project, is an attempt by the Sonia Gandhi-led party to mobilise support ahead of crucial local elections in the state over the next few months, and the 2023 assembly polls.

The Mekedatu issue has evoked emotions on both sides of the Karnataka-Tamil Nadu border as it is an extension of the century-old Cauvery river water dispute that has defined generations in the two states. The Congress says the additional reservoir in Mekedatu will help Karnataka source an additional 50 Thousand Million Cubic feet (TMC) of water and 400megawatt electricity.

DK Shivakumar, Karnataka Congress president, is also hoping to find his footing and get some traction in his favour within a visibly divided outfit torn between him and former chief minister Siddaramaiah.

“I pray with folded hands to the chief minister that he should withdraw the curfew. Take back the ban imposed by the DC (deputy commissioner). This struggle is for you as well since you also want to start the project and it is the duty of any political party to undertake such struggles,” Shivakumar told a local Kannada channel on Sunday morning.

Police have warned of penal action if the march does move forward as it violates Covid-19 restrictions. Over the last few days, the Congress has promised to maintain Covid appropriate behaviour

“The party has ordered one lakh masks,” DK Shivakumar told reporters on Tuesday when asked about the decision to hold the march at a time the state is battling a surge in Covid cases. But most leaders and participants at the padayatra on Sunday morning were without masks, and were not seen to maintain social distancing either, or take any other precautions.

The Congress is hoping for a repeat of the impact that its 300km march from Bengaluru to Ballari had in 2012 when it led a campaign against then BJP minister, Gali Janardhana Reddy, over the illegal mining scandal that eventually led to the collapse of the saffron outfit’s first government in southern India and reduced the party to just 40 seats in 2013 as against 110 in 2008.

The Congress is also trying to get various communities to back the march as part of its efforts to mobilise support especially in the Old Mysuru region where is has a tough battle with the Janata Dal (Secular) or JD(S) and even the BJP which has steadily increased its footprint in the Vokkaliga heartland, both organically and inorganically.