ANGRY PROTESTS: Dalit Sangharsh Samithi activists staging a dharna in Mysore on Sunday, which led to tension near K.R. Circle. — PHOTO: M.A. SRIRAM

MYSORE: Tension prevailed at K.R. Circle here on Sunday when activists of the Dalit Sangharsh Samithi (DSS) staged a protest against Deputy Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa for allegedly removing portraits of B.R. Ambedkar from a collection of portraits of national leaders in his chamber.

More than 200 activists gathered at K.R. Circle and chanted slogans against Mr. Yediyurappa. Police tried to prevent attempts to burn his effigy and seized the effigy and other material. However, the activists staged a dharna and insisted that they should be allowed to burn the effigy.

Altercation

After a prolonged altercation between the police and the activists, the former returned the material following which the effigy of Mr. Yediyurappa was set ablaze.

The activists urged Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy to dismiss Mr. Yediyurappa and expressed fears that the act was a precursor of things to come. They aired apprehensions about the rights and the future of Dalits and other backward classes in the State.

According to the activists, removing portraits of a leader who symbolises secularism, social justice and democratic principles is akin to an assault on the Constitution by a fundamentalist.

Expressing fears that communal forces are trying to thwart the progress of the country and disregard the ideals propounded by Dr. Ambedkar, DSS accused Mr. Yediyurappa of indulging in opportunistic politics by retaining the portraits of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam.

The samithi criticised elected representatives who fought the elections on an agenda of social justice and secularism but who have now joined hands with communal forces.

The sangha said Mr. Kumaraswamy should dismiss Mr. Yediyurappa, failing which the former should take moral responsibility for the incident and put in his papers. The Karnataka State Safai Karmachari Scavengers' Nirmoolana Mahasamsthe described Mr. Yediyurappa's act a reflection of the attitude and mindset of upper caste people towards the depressed classes.

Reinstallation

It called for reinstallation of Dr. Ambedakar's portrait in the Deputy Chief Minister's chambers, failing which it threatened to stage a State-wide agitation against the Government.

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