The Congress party has called for a statewide bandh in Karnataka on March 9 to protest against "rampant corruption" under the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government. The announcement came after the Lokayukta police arrested Prashanth Madal, son of BJP MLA Madal Virupakshappa, for seeking bribes from a company supplying raw materials to the state-run Karnataka Soaps and Detergents Ltd (KSDL).
The statewide bandh has been announced on March 9 from 9 am to 11 am. The bandh will not affect schools, transport, or medical facilities. Congress had been targeting the Basavaraj Bommai-led government over alleged corruption ever since the death of Santhosh Patil, the contractor from Karnataka's Belagavi who died by suicide after accusing former Karnataka Minister KS Eshawappa of corruption. He had alleged that Eshwarappa's aides sought 40 per cent commission for road construction projects he had done.
Congress also staged a protest in Bengaluru demanding the resignation of Chief Minister Bommai after Prashanth, who was serving as chief accountant of Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board, was caught accepting a bribe of Rs 40 lakh on Thursday. On Friday, the Lokayukta police announced that they had seized around Rs 8.1 crore in cash from the MLA and his son. Following the arrest, Virupakshappa resigned as chairman of the KSDL.
