Former Minister and BJP MLC A H Vishwanath has called upon former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to drop his plans to lead a march of Congress party supporters to Madikeri and lay siege to the office of Kodagu Superintendent of Police in protest against the alleged security lapses during his recent visit to the district when black flags were shown and eggs were hurled at his car.
Mr. Vishwanath, who is also a former MP representing Mysuru Lok Sabha constituency that covers Kodagu district as well, said the act of hurling eggs at Mr Siddaramaiah’s car was condemnable, but it does not behove the former Chief Minister to consider such acts as a ‘prestige issue’ and lead a protest march to Madikeri in retaliation, posing a threat to peace in the society.
Jana Jagruthi Sabha vs Madikeri Chalo
Mr Vishwanath’s appeal comes in the wake of a call issued by the BJP for a Jana Jagruthi Sabha in Madikeri on August 26, the same day the Congress party is planning to take out a mammoth march to Madikeri.
He cited several examples of public anger in democracy targeted at towering personalities, including former Prime Ministers Rajiv Gandhi and Indira Gandhi, while requesting Mr Siddaramaiah not to take the matter seriously when the entire State, including Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, has criticised the act of hurling eggs at his car.
Mr. Siddaramaiah, who is also the Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly was, however, free to take up the issue in the Legislature. Meanwhile, there are several burning problems affecting the people including the loss of homes and crops in the recent rains that deserved his attention, Mr Vishwanath said.
With the election year approaching, Mr Vishwanath said there may be several untoward incidents in politics and Mr Siddaramaiah can escape the responsibility for the same by dropping the Madikeri Chalo programme. He also said that several people of Kodagu and Mysuru were dependent on tourism and any threat to peace and law and order in the region will hit their source of livelihood.
Mr Vishwanath also appealed to former CMs B S Yediyurappa and S M Krishna to intervene in the matter along with Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai.
Political representation
Mr Vishwanath said there has been a call for political representation for Kodagu since a long time. While Kodagu was earlier part of Mangalore Lok Sabha segment, it was later merged into the Mysuru Lok Sabha constituency, he said.
“There has been a demand for a separate Lok Sabha constituency for Kodagu,” he said while adding that there have been examples of Lok Sabha constituencies with a population of 4 to 5 lakh in Northeast Indian states. All the parties should ensure political representation to people of Kodagu, he added.
DKS backs protest plan
Meanwhile, justifying the proposed protest by Congress workers on August 26, KPCC President Shivakumar said: "We have to raise slogans where they (BJP) protested. We will follow the ideals of Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel."
He said, “The black flag protest (by BJP) has been sponsored by the government. What will be the situation if Congress workers obstruct all government functions? Instead of portraying the egg attacker as a hero, the government should focus on addressing grievances of people. Nobody is permanent in politics.”
