Kannada organizations: BJP joined hands with Marwadis
Bandh organisers say leaders were picked up to prevent mobilisation of support
Bengaluru: The Karnakata bandh called by the Federation of Kannada Organizations demanding a quota for Kannadigas in jobs evoked a mixed response on Thursday. Essential services remained unaffected and schools and colleges functioned normally.
The protesters alleged that the ruling BJP joined hands with Marwadis and capitalists to make the bandh a failure.
They also charged the BJP used police brutality to quell the bandh in the state capital, Bengaluru.
All the leaders who could mobilize people were taken into custody, said Jayaraj Naidu, president of the Namma Karnataka Rakshana Vedike.
He said Karnataka should learn from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, where the state governments have protected the interests of local people against capitalists.
“We have been protesting for 102 days demanding a quota for local people. Our protest will continue. We will hold a meeting and decide on staging a hunger strike until our demand is met,” he added.