Cong leaders, including former Assembly Speaker taken into preventive custody

Mangaluru: Few Congress leaders, including former state assembly speaker K R Ramesh Kumar were taken into preventive custody by the city police at the airport here on Friday, December 21 here.

The delegation including Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council S R Patil, former Home Minister and MLA M B Patil, and former MP V S Ugrappa arrived  in the city to meet those injured and bereaved families of the two deceased during the violent protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act.

Ugrappa and Ramesh Kumar engaged in heated arguments with officials, who tried to move them into a police vehicle.

Speaking to reporters, SR Patil called the government’s act to “stop them” as undemocratic and “resembled Hitler rule”.

“We are public representatives. I’m the Leader of the Opposition in the Council. We wanted to meet those injured and affected by violence and instill confidence among the people of Mangaluru and also appeal for peace, which would have helped the government in turn,” he said.

“If there are prohibitory orders I can go alone and meet…nothing should stop me, I’m the LoP, its a breach of my privilege,” he added.

The delegation was later sent back to Bengaluru.

Condemning the police action of not letting his party colleagues enter Mangaluru, Siddaramaiah in Bengaluru said: “We have the right to talk to people there….try to know the truth… it is undemocratic and unconstitutional.”

He alleged that the Yediyurappa led BJP government was trying to turn Karnataka into another Kashmir.

All the rights enshrined in the Constitution have been curtailed and Congress leaders who arrived here to see the situation for themselves were detained at Mangaluru airport, he said. “I condemn this act to silence us,” he said.