Several Karnataka Congress leaders, including former state unit president Dinesh Gundu Rao and former chief minister Siddaramaiah, were detained by the police in Bengaluru on Saturday, as they marched to besiege the office of Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa to protest against the alleged misuse of the police department by the BJP government in the state.
Rao and Bangalore Rural MP D.K. Suresh tried to jump the barricade erected by the police to stop them, and march towards the chief minister's residence, but were stopped midway and detained.
The march, which began from Gandhi Statue on Race Course Road, led to a traffic pile-up.
The state Congress had organised the protest over a sedition case filed against a Bidar school and arrest of a parent and the headmistress, both of whom were granted bail, for their alleged involvement in staging a drama portraying Prime Minister Narendra Modi in poor light in connection with the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and National Register of Citizens.
The principal opposition party in the state alleged misuse of the police department by the state government to book cases against those opposing BJP and its "divisive policies".
As he was being detained, Siddaramaiah termed the police action as undemocratic. "Police have no right to suppress or take away our rights," he said.
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The Congress had planned to lay siege to the chief minister's office as laws were being violated across the state and false cases were being filed for sedition against political opponents, especially from Congress and those opposing the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and NRC, Siddaramaiah said.
Despite BJP activists using "filthy language and making anti-national comments", no cases were filed against them, Siddaramaiah claimed.
He alleged that the BJP was trying to suppress Congress using the police, and pointed out that cases have been booked against its leader U.T. Khader and a student from Mysuru for opposing Citizenship (Amendment) Act and NRC, while no cases have been filed against ruling party leaders like Somashekara Reddy and Anant Kumar Hegde for allegedly making inflammatory speeches.
