Ramanagara (Karnataka): FIR has been lodged on Monday against 41 people including KPCC president DK Shivakumar, Opposition Leader Siddaramaiah and MP D.K. Suresh, on allegations that Mekedatu padayatra was held without taking proper permission and that it violated COVID guidelines.
Mekedatu Padayatra, taken out with the 'Walk for Water' slogan, will cover 79.8 km from Ramnagar to Bengaluru and the yatra resumed on Sunday. The protest march would culminate in the Basavanagudi National College Grounds on March 3.
AICC General Secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala inaugurated the padayatra by beating drums along with State Congress President D.K. Shivakumar, Opposition leader Siddaramaiah, Legislative Council Opposition leader B.K. Hariprasad and other prominent leaders. A complaint has been lodged at Ramanagara police station and it is learned that the FIR was lodged on Sunday for allegedly violating the Covid rules.
The party had earlier launched a 10-day Mekedatu padayatra on January 9, at the peak of the third Covid wave. However, after the High Court's intervention, the padayatra was halted after four days. Five FIRs were registered on the Congress leaders and cadre then too. Congress leaders had decided to postpone the padayatra in Ramanagaram in light of the High Court’s observations about violation of Covid-19 norms and the state government's ban on processions & protests.
READ: Congress leaders on walkathon in K'taka, slam BJP govts for depriving people of drinking water
