Heritage city witnesses a spate of protests

The city on Thursday witnessed a series of protests by various organisations. While the activists of Jana Sanghatane (JS) staged a protest opposing attacks on freedom of expression, BJP workers held a demonstration against the murder of a TMC member from the party in Bengaluru.

Employees of Postal department were also on a stir seeking Union government to fulfill their long-pending demands.

‘Freedom of expression’
The activists of JS staged a protest near the Deputy Commissioner’s office here demanding protection of freedom of expression. The activists said that communalism and fundamentalism were disturbing the harmony of the nation. They quoted instances of rape threats to Delhi University student Gurmehar Kaur by Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) activists, threats by Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) against Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, attack on Kannada writer Yogesh Master by the activists of Sangh Parivar and threats to singer Suhana Syeda for singing a Hindu devotional song in a TV reality show, and termed them as classic examples of the growing levels of intolerance.

BJP workers protest
A group of BJP workers gathered in front of the Gandhi Square and raised slogans against state government for its “failure to maintain law and order”. They condemned the murder of BJP worker Srinivas Prasad alias Vasu in Bengaluru recently, and said that he was eliminated due to political rivalry. “Prasad was also Bommasandra Town Municipal Council (TMC) member and was vying for TMC top post. His political rivals killed Prasad to stop his growth and to prevent him from becoming the TMC president,” they alleged.
The agitators said that state government, led by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, has failed to maintain law and order. “Though several BJP workers were murdered, police have failed to arrest the criminals,” they complained. BJP city (district) unit president Dr B H Manjunath was present.

Postal employees’ stir
Employees of Postal department, Mysuru division, under the banner of Joint Council of Action, All India Postal Employees Union (NFPE) and National Union of Postal Employees (FNPO), staged a protest, urging Union government to fulfill their long-pending demands. The agitators staged a dharna in front of the General Post Office near Nehru Circle in the city.

The agitators sought fulfilment of demands by NJCA with regards to the amendment to the 7th pay commission recommendations. The agitators demanded a ban on the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA), New Pension Scheme (NPS) and grant of pension and family pension to all Central government employees recruited on or after January 1, 2004 under the Central Civil Service (CCS) Pension Rules 1972.

The agitators demanded that the government treat Gramin Dak Sewaks of the Postal department as civil servants and extend all benefits like pay, pension and allowances on par with the departmental employees. C R Deenabandhu, M S Parameshwara, H S Nagaraj and P Basavaraju were also present.