Palemar refuses police escort on bundh day

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangalore, Jan 23: District-in-charge Minister Krishna Palemar moved around Mangalore in his private vehicle on the day of the Karnataka bundh, without any police escort because he did not want to be blamed for any untoward incident that might have taken place in his presence.

Further explaining the matter, Palemar said that if there was trouble in Mangalore when his official vehicle with police escort passed along, the event would have been given political colors and the opposition parties would spread word that unsavory incidents took place in the minister’s presence. Palemar, Deputy Speaker Yogish Bhat, Chairman of the Karnataka State Minorities Commissioner Anwar Manippady, Deputy Speaker Yogish Bhat, and others remained the BJP office and monitored the bundh from there.

A number of shops remained open in spite of the strike. Explaining this situation, BJP media spokesperson Rajgopal Rai said that the party had no intention of forcing the bundh on people, especially because the bundh was called for late on Friday night. Many people supported the party and shut down their shops voluntarily, he added.

MLC Ganesh Karnik said that the bundh was a way of conveying the anger of the people to the governor for acting as a “political stooge.” The Congress, however, begged to differ; and Congress leader M. G. Hegde said that bundh was enforced on the people by a corrupt party.