Karnataka bandh: Amit Shah holds rally in Mysuru despite shutdown but keeps mum on Mahadayi issue; life hit in Bengaluru

Bengaluru/ Mysuru: The state-wide bandh called by pro-Karnataka groups and activists supporting the demand to supply Mahadayi water to north Karnataka’s farmers paralysed life in the southern districts of Bengaluru and Mysuru on Thursday. Schools and colleges remained shut and public transport was not available for most part of the day in the two cities.

Meanwhile, despite the bandh, BJP national president Amit Shah was in the state to address a pre-planned rally in Mysuru, which was part of the party’s Parivartan Yatra.

Senior BJP leaders accused the ruling Congress of misusing government machinery to come in way of their campaigning by declaring a bandh on days, when their senior leaders were visiting the state.

BJP’s R Ashok, former deputy chief minister, said that he got calls from many state depot managers who alleged that they had been asked to not run buses on Thursday and to send drivers home. “This is how low Siddaramaiah has fallen. But the people have turned up to show that they don’t want Siddaramaiah as chief minister anymore…”

In Bengaluru, activists from organisations such as Karnataka Rakshana Vedike, Karunada Sevakaru, Dr Vishnu Sena Samithi, Sarkari Naukar Sangata, Karmika Rakshana Vedike and others, led by pro-Kannada activist Vatal Nagaraj of Kannada Okkoota, took out a protest march from Town Hall to Freedom Park.

“We have gathered here to fight for the people of Uttara (North) Karnataka who should get Mahadayi water. Goa government says tourism will be affected if they give water to us. Let them understand that farmers are suffering here and they need drinking water. Like we give Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu, let the Goa government agree to give us water,” Gurupreet, a member of the Karunada Sevakaru group told Firstpost.

Addressing the crowd at Town Hall in Bengaluru, Nagaraj said: “Development in North Karnataka is crucial… People there are living in hell. We are unable to see the plight of the people in north Karnataka and the injustice they face.”

The shutdown call also affected the IT majors in Bengaluru, including Infosys, Wipro and other multinational firms which had to suspend their operations for the day. Exams of the Bangalore University and Vishweshwaraya Technological University scheduled for Thursday also had to be postponed. Bus services from Bengaluru to neighbouring states remained defunct until evening, leaving passengers stranded.

Nirmala, 30, hailing from KR Puram in Bangalore had booked a ticket for Kerala to attend a wedding on Thursday. She only got to know about the shutdown after she reached Shanti Nagar bus station with her family. Nirmala said that they would wait at the bus stop until evening with their two children, since the autos were asking thrice the normal fare citing the bandh. Several groups were seen protesting in various parts of the city, but the demonstrations largely remained peaceful.

However, reports from Hubbali, Dharwad, Bijapur and Belgavi suggested the bandh call did not receive much support in these districts as businesses and services remained open throughout the day.

The shutdown was called by activists demanding intervention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the Mahadayi river dispute between Goa and Karnataka, in order to provide water to farmers in the north Karnataka region.

The Mahadayi river (or Mandovi river as it is known in Goa) flows from Karnataka to Goa. The dispute between the states over sharing the river’s water is a long-standing one. However, it was recently revived after Goa government alleged that Karnataka was constructing a canal at Kankumbi to divert the water away from the coastal state, a move it claimed was in violation of the Supreme Court order. The apex court had last year ordered Karnataka to stop any construction work in the river’s basin.

Meanwhile, wading into the issue, actor Prakash Raj posted a video on Twitter. He said: “We have right over water that flows past Kalasa Banduri. Any party that keeps saying that because our party is ruling at the Centre, or in some neighbouring state, so we can bring water on the basis of this, through political means, is telling a blatant lie. This is a pro-people agitation, please don’t do politics over people’s fundamental rights.”

ಮಹದಾಯಿ ಹೋರಾಟ...ನನ್ನ ಮನವಿ.... pic.twitter.com/QuPfDjwUbU

— Prakash Raj (@prakashraaj) January 25, 2018

The Goa government-run Kadamba Transport Corporation Limited (KTCL) suspended its bus services to Karnataka on Thursday owing to the bandh, reports claimed. In another development, the Goa government set up a four-member committee to monitor any possible activity in Maharashtra or Karnataka to divert the river water.

Amit Shah keeps mum on Mahadayi issue

While some of the pro-Kannada activists demanded that Amit Shah make his stand clear on the Mahadayi row, the BJP chief, while addressing the crowd at Parivartan rally in Mysuru, did not comment on the issue.

“Like Deve Gowda and Indira Gandhi acted during their tenure (as PM) to find solution to Cauvery crisis, Modi should do the same before coming to Karnataka on 4 February. Amit Shah also should clarify his stand,” said Navalgund MLA and Janata Dal(S) leader NH Konaraddi addressing protesters outside the Town Hall in Bengaluru.

Shah said that the BJP’s Parivartana Yatra had instilled fear in the Congress leadership in Karnataka. Repeating most of the allegations he levelled at the Chitradurga rally held on 10 January, Shah challenged Siddaramaiah to stop the BJP from winning the upcoming Assembly elections.

Shah also reminded the people of the state that the Congress government “was more interested in celebrating Tipu Sultan’s jayanti (birth anniversary)” than implementing schemes announced by the Centre. Citing figures, he claimed the Centre had released ample funds to Karnataka and sought an account of its expenditure from the Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.

Alleging that the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government was synonymous with corruption, Shah asked the crowd whether anyone has ever owned a watch worth Rs 70 lakh. He then went on to claim that not only the chief minister wears such expensive watches, but his party leaders have also come into sudden wealth since they came to power.

Responding to this allegation in the past, Siddaramaiah has clarified that the watch was actually worth Rs 7 lakh and was gifted to him.

“This government promises to be the friend of Other Backward Classes (OBCs), but when Narendra Modi brought forward the OBC commission, the Congress derailed it in the Parliament,” Shah claimed, adding that the Modi government will ensure that the OBC commission gets constitutional validity.

Shah also blamed the state government of failing to maintain law and order in the state. “The Siddaramaiah government has been non-responsive to the killings of 22 workers of the BJP and the RSS in the state. This is complete failure on their part,” he said.

Several of the supporters gathered to hear Shah seemed happy with the BJP rule at the Centre and approved of a change at helm in the state as well. Siddappa, a farmer, told Firstpost, “Congress has failed farmers so I will vote for Modi.”

A group of around 15 young women, who said they were from Kumbarakoppal village near Mysuru, claimed that they were brought to the rally by a local BJP leader and were asked to clap during the speech.

However, responding to this, S Suresh Kumar, BJP MLA from Rajajinagar (Bengaluru), who was at the Mysuru rally, said all party workers who were asked to invite people from the surrounding villages to Amit Shah’s rally were instructed to explain the details of BS Yeddyurappa’s state-wide yatra and the importance of this meeting.

(Ayswarya Murthy, Elizabeth Mani, Mahesh Bacham from Bengaluru and Nivedita Niranjankumar from Mysuru have contributed to this story. All are members of 101Reporters.com , a pan-India network of grassroots reporters.)