Kannada organisations have organised a series of protests starting Monday, March 3, which will culminate with a Karnataka bandh on March 22, over the assault on the bus conductor in Belagavi.
The Kannada Okkoota, a federation of Kannada organisations, has announced a series of protests, starting with laying siege to Raj Bhavan, the official residence of the Karnataka Governor on Monday, March 3.
Kannada organisations have given a call for the agitation over the alleged assault on the bus conductor in Belagavi on February 22. The bus conductor was allegedly assaulted by a group of people after he asked a couple of passengers to speak in Kannada as he could not understand Marathi. The incident turned into a controversy, with Karnataka and Maharashtra suspending inter-state bus services for several days fearing violence.
Kannada Okkoota chief Vatal Nagaraj has stated that the bandh was being organised over the alleged ill-treatment of Kannadigas in the areas bordering Maharashtra and over the alleged assault on the bus conductor. They have also demanded a ban on the Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti (MES) in Karnataka, expulsion of Shiv Sena members from Karnataka and the removal of the Sambhaji statue in Belagavi.
Other events planned by the Okkoota include a Belagavi Chalo on March 7, blocking the Karnataka-Tamil Nadu border in Attibele near Bengaluru on March 11, protests in Mandya, Ramnagara and other areas on March 14, and shutdown of the toll at Hoskote near Bengaluru on March 16. A state-wide bandh will be observed on March 22.
However, several major Kannada organisations such as the Karnataka Rakshana Vedike factions headed by TA Narayana Gowda and Praveen Shetty have not supported the call given by the Okkoota. The state organising secretary of the Karnataka Rakshana Vedike Arun Javgal has also said that the organisation would not be supporting the bandh.