A Congress worker who wore a t-shirt with the caption ‘PayCM’ printed on it while participating in the party’s Bharat Jodo Yatra was beaten up by Karnataka police. Police have also registered a case against Akshaya, who wore the t-shirt with the ‘PayCM’ caption which has been widely used in an anti-corruption campaign by the Congress in Karnataka against the Basavara Bommai-led BJP government. Visuals showed police personnel punching Akshaya while his t-shirt was forcefully removed. Akshaya reportedly hails from Sindagi in Vijayapura district.
According to reports, the Congress worker has been booked under Sections 505(1)(b) (offence against State or against public tranquillity) and 507(criminal intimidation by an anonymous communication) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Akshaya was walking along with other Congress workers in Chamarajanagar district of Karnataka and was reportedly waving a flag with a QR code resembling Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai’s face. The police acted on a complaint by Gundlupet town municipality member Kiran Gowda, who had alleged that by displaying the ‘PayCM’ poster, the Congress worker had insulted CM Bommai, IANS reported.
Condemning the arrest of the Congress worker, former CM and Congress leader Siddaramaiah alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lacked courage and strength to face the corruption allegations against it, and is trying to silence opposition voices using the police. In a series of tweets over the incident, he also alleged that the Bommai government has been committing atrocities against Congress workers over the last few days.
I condemn the act of rowdism by the police on our party worker who was wearing #PayCM shirt.
— Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) October 1, 2022
I urge @CMofKarnataka to immediately suspend this rowdy police.#PayCM pic.twitter.com/B4iuz2lAWH
On September 21, the Karnataka Congress launched a campaign called ‘PayCM’ against the Bommai-led BJP government. The campaign was based on allegations by the contractors’ association which accused ministers, legislators and officials of demanding a 40% cut of the total cost of government projects. Congress workers had put up posters with a QR code resembling CM Bommai’s face and caption of ‘PayCM’ in public places across Bengaluru. The Bengaluru Police had arrested five members of the Congress IT and media cell under the Karnataka Open Places (Prevention of Disfigurement) Act for putting up the posters.
The Congress’s Bharat Jodo Yatra is a mass contact programme that involves padayatra or walkathon of Congress leaders and workers from Kanyakumari to Kashmir. After touring both Tamil Nadu and Kerala, Bharat Jodo Yatra entered Karnataka on September 30 through Gundlupet in Chamarajanagar district. Over 21 days, it aims to cover 511 km by foot in Karnataka.
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