1. Bengaluru Civil Society groups demand repeal of order limiting protests to Freedom Park
Bengaluru Police on October 2 detained several protestors affiliated to Horatada Hakkigaagi Janandolana as they held a demonstration opposing the Licensing and Regulation of Protests, Demonstrations, and Protest Marches (Bengaluru City) Order, 2021. The order, that was brought into effect in January 2022, deems protests outside Freedom Park in the city illegal.
Earlier, during the BJP government led by Basavaraj Bommai, the Bengaluru Police Commissioner had issued an order restricting all protests to Freedom Park, one of the reasons being the traffic snarls the marches resulted in. However, civil society groups say the decision has made protests invisible.
2. Karnataka government mulls legal measures against those who spread misinformation about Gandhi
Along the lines of sedition law, the Karnataka government has said it will consider legal measures to tackle defamatory misinformation about Mahatma Gandhi, especially on social media. During the celebration of Gandhi Jayanthi in Gandhi Bhavan in Bengaluru on October 2, 2023, several Gandhians made this appealed to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
Gandhi Bhavan, which is currently in the process of digitising its books, also made its monthly magazine Bapu Prapancha accessible to readers as e-books, on the occasion.
3. Prohibitory orders clamped in Shivamogga City Corporation limits
The Shivamogga district administration imposed prohibitory orders in the Shivamogga City Corporation limits with effect from Sunday midnight.
The police resorted to lathi-charge when some miscreants threw stones during the Eid-Milad procession in the city. Following the violence, the district administration had clamped prohibitory orders in Ragi Gudda and Shantinagar localities on Sunday evening. However, late in the night, Deputy Commissioner R. Selvamani issued an order extending the prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the CrPC, across the city while also deploying RAF companies.
4. Five District Congress Committee presidents appointed for Bengaluru city
AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday, October 2, approved reorganisation of Bengaluru city into five District Congress Committees (DCCs) and appointed presidents to them under the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC).
Appointment of these DCC presidents for Bengaluru city is expected to help the Congress in the coming elections to the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP).
