The Kodagu district administration has imposed prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the CrPC for five days from November 7, even as the Tipu Jayanti Virodhi Horata Samiti has called for a Kodagu bandh on November 10, the day on which the State government has scheduled Tipu Jayanti celebrations.
The ban orders announced by Kodagu Deputy Commissioner Vincent Richard D’Souza will be in force from 4 p.m. on November 7 till 8 a.m. on November 11. The order, however, exempts government programmes and weddings. All other public and political functions, meetings, rallies, processions, protests, road blockades, and other forms of protests have been banned period.
Meanwhile, at a press conference in Madikeri, samiti president M.B. Abhimanyu Kumar called for the Kodagu bandh on November 10 to protest against the government's decision to celebrate Tipu Jayanti despite opposition from the Kodavas.
Taking exception to the police move to book several persons under Section 107 ahead of Tipu Jayanti, Mr. Kumar said the samiti has decided to resort to jail bharo agitation.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said the BJP was deliberately fomenting trouble and trying to create law and order issues for political gains. Meanwhile, several BJP workers led by Shobha Karandlaje and Pratap Simha, MPs, were arrested in Mysuru when they tried to take out a march to the Deputy Commissioner’s office.
