ABVP protesters defy police warning; several injured in lathicharge

Mangaluru, July 29: Justifying the transfer of Dakshina Kannada deputy commissioner Sindhu B Rupesh, district in-charge minister Kota Shrinivas Poojari has accused Mangaluru MLA U T Khader of politicizing the issue. 

The IAS officer was transferred by the Karnataka government on July 28, a day after a saffron activist issued a death threat against her on social media after she warned of legal action against the miscreants who attack cattle traders.

Condemning the development, Mr Khader had tweeted that the state government has punished the deputy commissioner instead of punishing the culprit, who issued death threat.

Responding to Mr Khader’s tweet, Mr Poojari said that the transfer of the officer was on administrative ground. “It is unfortunate that Khader politicized a transfer carried out by the government on administrative ground. This is not Khader’s time to protect any accused,” tweeted Mr Poojari. 

It is worth mentioning here that Mr Khader was the district in-charge minister of Dakshina Kannada before Mr Poojari taking over the position. 

Meanwhile, police has arrested a person in connection with the death threat against the IAS officer.

Bengaluru, Jul 28: Several state Congress leaders, including its President D K Shivakumar, among others, were detained by police as they tried to march towards Raj Bhavan here against the alleged attempts by BJP to topple the party's government in Rajasthan.

Shivakumar, along with Leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah, state Congress Working President Eshwar Khandre, Salim Ahmed among others were stopped by the police midway as they marched from KPCC office towards Raj Bhavan.

Congress leaders then staged a dharna at the place where they were stopped. Addressing the gathering, Shivakumar accused the BJP of trying to "murder" democracy by destabilizing and removing elected governments.

"We wanted to protest against it and submit a memorandum to the President through the Governor," but the Karnataka government by using police was not letting them proceed towards Raj Bhavan, he said. "Despite our being a peaceful protest, the police stopped us," he said.

Siddaramaiah, echoing similar views, said peaceful protests against injustice was the right of every citizen. Alleging that the BJP was attempting to destabilise and remove the elected government in Rajasthan as it did in Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh, he said the Governor's office there (Rajasthan) was being 'misused'.

The Governor was working like an agent of the central government, he charged. He said, despite repeated appeals by the Rajasthan cabinet, the Governor there had not convened the assembly session, for the floor test to take place and for Congress to prove its majority. Police subsequently detained Shivakumar and some other Congress leaders and took them to a nearby police station.

They were later released. Meanwhile, as the Congress' protest amid Covid19 pandemic did not follow social distancing norms, Medical Education Minister K Sudhakar hit out at that party's leaders. In a tweet Sudhakar said, for Congress leaders getting publicity was more important than social concerns.