E-Paper
Congress suspends Mekedatu Padayatra amid Covid surge in Bengaluru
“Today, we are sacrificing this protest,” DK Shivakumar, president of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC), said on Thursday in Ramanagara, about 50 km from Bengaluru.
The Karnataka Congress on Thursday temporarily called off its Mekedatu march, terming it a “sacrifice” in the interest of the state and its people, a day after the state government prohibited inter-district and intra-district (within Ramanagara) movement of vehicles and persons for participating in the padyatra.
“Today, we are sacrificing this protest,” DK Shivakumar, president of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC), said on Thursday in Ramanagara, about 50 km from Bengaluru.
Shivakumar said this was just a temporary break, emphasising the ‘Nama Neeru Namma Hakku’ padayatra will resume soon, without specifying the date.
“We are ending the #MekedatuPadayatre as of now due to increasing #Covid19 cases in Bengaluru. Our main priority is the well-being of our people. We will restart the Padayatre as soon as the #Covid19 cases are reduced & restrictions are removed,” senior Congress leader and the leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah said in a Twitter post.
The Basavaraj Bommai-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government on Wednesday evening banned participation in the padayatra in the backdrop of a steep rise in Covid-19 cases across the state. The government’s decision came hours after the Karnataka high court came down on the government for its inaction and the Congress for its defiance of restrictions.
Senior Congress leaders held a meeting in Ramanagara district on Thursday after the government’s order, in which several leaders expressed their concerns over continuing the padayatra.
The several hundreds who had gathered in Ramanagara remained in the district for a few hours before Congress leaders addressed them and asked them to return to their districts.
The suspension of the march, meanwhile, triggered a war of words between the Congress and the ruling BJP with both accusing each other of aiding the spread of Covid-19 cases.
“@BJP4Karnataka govt was always interested in covering up their failure in #Covid19 mgmt by pointing fingers at the opposition. It has failed both politically & administratively to ensure justice to the victims of #Covid19,” Siddaramaiah said.
Several BJP leaders had been holding events with large gatherings up until the first week of January.
“The government constantly tried to persuade Congress to stop (the) padayatra. The government handled this situation in a very mature manner without use of force like lathicharge or arrest. Padayatra has indeed led to (a) surge in cases and Congress is responsible for this,” Dr K Sudhakar, state’s health minister said on Thursday.
The Congress’ 10-day long padayatra demanding implementation of the Mekedatu project, to which neighbouring Tamil Nadu is opposed, continued for the fourth day on Wednesday for a distance of about 15 km from Chikkenahalli to Ramanagara, with participation of hundreds of party workers and supporters.
The padayatra that began on 9 January, spanning a distance of nearly 139 km, was scheduled to conclude at Basavanagudi in Bengaluru on January 19.
Police have already filed three FIRs against Congress leaders, including Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah, for taking out the march defying Covid-19 curbs.
