Hubballi-Dharwad and Bidar cities witnessed a peaceable bandh on Thursday condemning Union dwelling minister Amit Shah’s alleged derogatory remarks about BR Ambedkar. Varied Dalit factions, block Congress, BSP, RPI, and progressive organisations participated within the protest, with leaders claiming the bandh acquired widespread help.
Congress legislator Prasad Abbayya, main a protest at Rani Channamma Circle, mentioned the bandh successful. “The closure of Hubballi-Dharwad cities displays the folks’s anger in the direction of minister Shah and their respect for Ambedkar,” he mentioned.
As a mark of protest, the activists from numerous Dalit teams shut down all industrial institutions in each cities. Based on folks accustomed to the matter, among the protesters allegedly deflated tyres of autos seen working through the bandh and even burned tyres on the Channamma Circle.
Hubballi-Dharwad police commissioner N. Shashikumar reported that 2,000 police personnel, together with Residence Guards, had been deployed to make sure legislation and order. “Protesters cooperated with the police by adhering to tips set earlier than permission for the bandh was granted,” he mentioned.
Police erected barricades round Channamma Circle to forestall protesters from gathering. Regardless of these measures, protests unfold throughout industrial areas. Companies remained closed, and academic establishments had been declared closed for the day. The North-West Karnataka State Highway Transport Company (NWKSRTC) and East-West NWLSRTC suspended bus providers, and rickshaws and different public transport stayed off the roads.
Defending the choice to droop bus providers, transport minister Ramalinga Reddy mentioned it was vital to guard public property and lives. “The buses had been stored off the roads to forestall injury amid public anger in the direction of Minister Shah,” he mentioned.
Training minister Madhu Bangarappa justified the closure of faculties, citing security considerations. “Declaring a vacation was the perfect choice to forestall kids from being caught in potential unrest. The success of the bandh reveals that college students would have confronted difficulties commuting to and from college,” Bangarappa remarked.
In Dharwad, protesters burned an effigy of Minister Shah at Jubilee Circle, however Shashikumar confirmed that the bandh remained peaceable. “Aside from the effigy burning, no untoward incidents had been reported in Dharwad,” he added.
In Bidar and its taluk headquarters, industrial institutions had been shut down, with Dalit youths holding blue flags and transferring by the streets on bikes and vehicles to make sure compliance. Political events just like the BSP and RPI, together with progressive organizations, supported the bandh.
Bidar SP Pradeep Gunti mentioned: “A major variety of police personnel had been deployed to keep up legislation and order.”
Gurunath Ullikashi, a pacesetter of the Dalit organisations that spearheaded the bandh, mentioned: “Over 102 Dalit and progressive associations participated within the peaceable bandh noticed from 6 am to six pm on Thursday. Union Minister Shah should be faraway from his publish for his insulting remarks about Ambedkar. This unprecedented unity of over 100 organisations will persist in searching for justice towards such insults,” Ullikashi asserted.
In the meantime, Belagavi metropolis BJP block president Hanumant Kongali mentioned that the bandh was profitable because it was sponsored by the Congress authorities. “The federal government took off the private and non-private transportation from the roads and declared vacation for the academic establishments,” he mentioned.
