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Egg thrown at Siddaramaiah’s convoy in Kodagu
They screamed “Go back Siddaramaiah” and accused him of being anti-Hindu as an egg was thrown at his car, leading to a small scuffle that police brought under control.
Several people, holding pictures of Hindutva ideologue Vinayak Damodar Savarkar and black flags, protested against Congress leader Siddaramaiah who visited Kodagu district to see the rain-related damages in the coffee-growing region.
They screamed “Go back Siddaramaiah” and accused him of being anti-Hindu as an egg was thrown at his car, leading to a small scuffle that police brought under control.
“This is the work of cowards. They (BJP) cannot run a government, there is no governance, the government is absolutely dead and all petty strategies like this are being used to divert the attention of the people,” Siddarmaiah said in Kodagu, about 225 km from Bengaluru.
The former chief minister said the protests were “engineered” to prevent him from viewing the shoddy works carried out by the BJP government, its two MLAs in the district and the contractors associated with them.
“Because I have come here to see the shoddy works, they are carrying out black flag protests. They also know that we (Congress) will win both seats in Kodagu this time, and they are upset about this,” he added.
Aaraga Jnaendra, the home minister, on Thursday said: “A few incidents took place and I just got information about it. I have given instructions to police that wherever the opposition leader goes, he should be given adequate security.”
He dismissed claims that law and order situation in the state was getting worse after the leader of the opposition was at the receiving end of such kind of protests.
Siddaramaiah and the Congress has been targeted by the BJP in recent days over the tearing down of Savarakar’s picture in Shivamogga district a day before India’s Independence Day on August 15.
Siddaramaiah had said the deliberate instating of Savarakar’s picture in a “Muslim locality” had led to anger which manifested into communal tensions in the district, including the stabbing of one person.
HD Kumaraswamy, former chief minister and Janata Dal (Secular) leader, said he has requested and suggested to both national parties to keep away from such communal politics and focus on the problems of the people, hinting that the two had fostered the environment in the state.
“Whether it is pro-Hindu organisations or others associated with any other religion. What we need is our life, and we need programmes for that. I am not happy that they threw eggs on Siddaramaiah. This should not happen. Whichever political party, when you create such a situation... they build relationships with such organisations and when you actually go to check on rain-related problems, this culture of throwing eggs, have these organisations brought any respect to Madikeri or the people of Kodagu?” he said.
