Apologise To Lingayats, Suspend Cops Responsible For Lathicharge, BJP Tells Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah

BJP alleged that police resorted to caning the protesters following CM Siddaramaiah's order.

Belagavi: Accusing that the Karnataka Congress government is trying to suppress dissent and democratic rights through force, the opposition BJP on Thursday demanded Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to tender an apology for what it called police brutality on protesters from the Panchamasali community over their demand for reservation under the 2A category.

The BJP legislators led by state unit president B Y Vijayendra and opposition leader in assembly R Ashoka staged a protest at the Dr B R Ambedkar statue near Suvarna Soudha on Thursday and condemned the police lathi-charge on protesters from the Panchamasali Ligayath community on Tuesday evening when they were on their way to lay siege to the Suvarna Soudha.

"The CM must tender an apology to the community and also take action against police officers responsible for the lathi charge," Vijayendra demanded.v "Without the direction from the CM, police would not have resorted to the caning of protesters. This incident shows this government has utter disregard for the democratic rights of the people," he added.

He said if Siddaramaiah had met the protesters as they demanded, the incident would not have happened. But the CM's arrogance escalated the tension, he added.

Describing the police action premeditated, Ashoka demanded a judicial inquiry into the incident. He also demanded the suspension of the police officer responsible for the lathi charge.

Home Minister Defends Police Action

However, Home Minister G Parameshwara defended the police action claiming it was unavoidable as protesters were trying to lay siege to Suvarna Soudha violating law.

"We had given permission for them to carry out a peaceful protest. But the situation escalated when they attempted to march towards Suvarna Soudha breaching barricades. They also began pelting stones while disregarding the high court order. So police had to act to maintain public order. We have video evidence to substantiate this," Parameshwara said.

He clarified that the government respects the Panchamasali community's right to protest but emphasized that ensuring public safety and adherence to the law is the duty of the government. "We had sent three ministers to hold talks with them (protesters), but their demands exceeded legal boundaries. The caning of protesters became necessary under these circumstances," he added.