Mandya: High Voltage drama was witnessed in Bengaluru after Karnataka Police detained BJP workers protesting in Bengaluru over the Mandya flag issue. Mandya district administration yesterday brought down the Hanuman flag hoisted by the Gram Panchayat Board of Mandya district.
BJP and JDS workers held protest in Keragodu village too in Mandya over the Hanuman flag hoisted by the Gram Panchayat Board of Mandya district, which was brought down by the district administration, yesterday. Heavy force has been deployed in the area.
Security beefed up
Amid the prevailing tension in Karnataka's Mandya district following the removal of a saffron flag hoisted on a 108-foot flagpole in Keragodu village, security has been beefed up in the district as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Janata Dal-Secular (JDS) have called for a protest rally from the village to the District Collector's office. Section 144 has been imposed in the village from Sunday and a large contingent of police personnel have been deployed. Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) prohibits the gathering of four or more people in a specified area.
Saffron flag hoisted on a 108-foot flagpole brough down on Sunday
The controversy erupted on Sunday morning after the Mandya district administration brought down the saffron flag hoisted on a 108-foot flagpole in Keragodu village. As per the district administration, the flag was hoisted in violation of rules in Keragodu village panchayat as permission is mandatory for hoisting any flag.
Reportedly, Sri Gourishankar Seva Trust of the village, which had received permission from the Gram Panchayat to hoist the national flag and the Kannada flag, hoisted the saffron flag in violation of the conditions.
The situation escalated as protestors voiced their discontent against the removal.
Sangh Parivar workers, secular Janata Dal and BJP workers opposed it. Tensions soared as police attempts at persuasion failed, prompting a forceful dispersal that left several injured and further fueled public outrage.
