A day after the BJP’s chief ministerial face and state president BS Yeddyurappa was served a notice asking him to appear before police for questioning on September 28, BJP workers staged a protest in front of Mahalakshmi Layout Police Station. The workers alleged that the state government was misusing the institution for political purposes.
The senior BJP leader was summoned in a case pertaining to the alleged kidnapping attempt of Vinay Bidre, KS Eshwarappa’s personal assistant.
The protest on Saturday was led by Malleswaram MLA N Ashwath Narayan and former deputy mayor S Harish,
"The notice is politically motivated. The government is misusing the police to target Yeddyurappa. The police are acting as the government's agent," Ashwath Narayan said.
They demanded that the police record Yeddyurappa's statement in his residence.
A senior policeman, however, said that it was the investigating officer’s discretion where to obtain a statement.
"It's the prerogative of the investigating officer to serve a notice on or visit a person's house to get his/her statement. The investigating officer will take suitable action as per the law," Chetan Singh Rathore, DCP (North) told Deccan Herald.
This police summons came on the same day the Karnataka High Court stayed investigations against Yeddyurappa in connection with a land denotification case.
On May 11, a five-member gang had allegedly attempted to abduct Vinay Bidre. The police then identified Santosh, Yeddyurappa’s assistant as the prime suspect. Santosh has got anticipatory bail.
The bitter rivalry between Yeddyurappa and Leader of Opposition the Legislative Council Eshwarappa had in the past caused much embarrassment to the BJP with both the leaders voicing their differences in the open. At the insistence of the party’s national leadership, the feud has ended at least in the public eye in the recent months.