Several prominent BJP leaders, including the party’s Karnataka State President BS Yeddyurappa, were detained by the Mangaluru Police on Thursday.
The leaders were ferried out of Mangaluru’s Nehru Maidan as the BJP was holding a protest march to condemn the alleged murders of party functionaries, despite the police refusing permission for such a protest.
Thousands of party workers gathered at Mangaluru’s Jyothi Circle and were waving the party’s saffron flags whilst chanting slogans against the Congress-led Siddaramaiah government.
The party had initially planned a bike rally titled ‘Mangaluru Chalo’, for which the state police had denied permission.
Clashes were witnessed between the BJP workers and the police as cadres tried to cross the barricades installed to block the rally.
The party also demanded the ban on the Popular Front of India and the Karnataka Forum for Dignity, which the saffron party alleged was behind the attacks on BJP functionaries.
The Mangaluru Police Commissioner said that permission was granted for the public gathering between 11am and 2pm. “But we had not given permission for the bike rally. Hence, we had to detain them,” the DCP added.
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