The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : ‘Extra time’ for BJP leader leads to fracas

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Monday, May 05, 2008
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

‘Extra time’ for BJP leader leads to fracas

Staff Reporter

Residents’ association holds interaction
Police intervene to restore calm

BANGALORE: At first glance, it might have seemed like a great citizens’ initiative to get together all candidates contesting from the Hebbal constituency and have them spell out their vision for the area. But the 20 minutes of fracas during the interaction put paid to such notions.

Even as former Industries Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Katta Subramanya Naidu spoke about his work of tiding up roads and roads as the MLA from Shivajinagar constituency, a few persons from the audience who were apparently supporters of an opposing political party started to object to the “extra time” given to Mr. Naidu as also his remarks against the misrule by other parties in the last 60 years.

When the organiser of the interaction, Triward Residents’ Welfare Association, tried to placate this section of the audience saying Mr. Naidu had about two minutes of the 15 minutes allotted to him, a crowd rushed towards the stage claiming favouritism.

By the time the posse of policemen reached the venue at HMT playgrounds, the dais was full of opposing factions shouting down political parties, the Congress and the BJP.

It took much pleading from the organisers and some effort from the policemen to finally restore calm and let the event continue. As Mr. Naidu left the venue, apparently to prevent tension from further escalating, the other candidates, H.M. Revanna from the Congress, Lokesh Reddy from the Janata Dal (Secular) and Mallikarjun Bommai from the Janata Dal (United), delivered their speeches.

“We had asked the candidates to desist from criticising their opponents and state their vision for the area, their views on corruption and their contribution to public life. But some people took offence to his statement that governments over the last 60 years have not put in place a proper system of garbage disposal,” said G.K. Reddy, president of the association.

At the end of his speech, offering a possible explanation for the disruption, Mr. Revanna said that there was “apprehension among some sections” as one of the persons organising the event “was a former BJP councillor” and “the tension was a result of these doubts”.

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