The Opposition BJP members staged a dharna on the final day of the winter session of the Legislative Assembly on Friday demanding the resignation of Minister for Mines and Geology Vinay Kulkarni for his alleged role in the murder of BJP activist and Dharwad ZP member Yogesh Gowda in 2016.
BJP members also demanded a CBI probe on the death of the activist to help nab the culprits. TV channel Suvarna News broke the story on Thursday of police officials allegedly pressurizing the family of the deceased to withdraw the murder case. The family said that it was being done at the behest of Kulkarni, reported The Hindu.
Home Minister Ramalinga Reddy said an inquiry would be conducted and the next date of inquiry is December 2. As BJP continued the dharna, Speaker K.B. Koliwad adjourned the House.
Meanwhile, there was also tension in Dharwad after BJP and Congress workers both took to the streets in protest on Friday. The issue that led to the protests revolved around the alleged involvement of Vinay Kulkarni in the murder of Yogesh Gowda.
BJP workers staged a protest in front of the DC office demanding resignation of Kulkarni, who is also the district in-charge minister even as Congress workers condemned the BJP for resorting to ‘cheap tactics and baseless allegations to tarnish the reputation of their leader’.
However, over 100 police personnel also arrived at the DC office at the same time to relieve the tension. The police vacated the BJP workers from the dharna site and locked the main gate of the DC office, reported The Hindu from Dharwad.
Deputy Commissioner SB Bommanahalli said situation turned bit tense because the workers of both the parties came to the spot of the protest at the same time. Police had given permission to hold protest at different times, he said speaking to The Hindu.a