A public function for laying the foundation for ward developmental works and to felicitate poor beneficiaries in Nagarabhavi turned into a battleground on Saturday over petty politics by the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress.
A public function for laying the foundation for ward developmental works and to felicitate poor beneficiaries in Nagarabhavi turned into a battleground on Saturday over petty politics by the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress. The scuffle left three persons injured.
All was well till 10.30am, as hundreds of beneficiaries had gathered to collect their Bhagyalakshmi bond and occupancy certificates. But all hell broke loose when several Congress workers advanced towards the stage and started hurling abuses at the organisers. They alleged that the BJP, which had organised the function, had violated protocol by not inviting the local Congress MLA Priya Krishna to the function.
The BJP workers, not wanting to be outdone by the Congressmen began to retaliate and accused the latter of disturbing the function, which was organised for the good of the public. In the melee, the BBMP corporator from Nagarabhavi, Umesh Shetty, was almost beaten up, which was witnessed by the crowd that had gathered there.
Police had to resort to a lathicharge to quell the mob and to restore peace.
However, the scene turned ugly again when housing minister V Somanna (also former MLA from the constituency) began his speech. Somanna said that acts like these won’t affect him. This created further tension resulting in home minister R Ashoka and senior BJP leader and MP Ananth Kumar stepping in to control the clashes between the workers of both parties.
When Krishna was given an opportunity to speak on the dais, he directed the BBMP authorities to follow protocols while holding public functions.
However, Umesh Shetty said, “A formal invitation was extended to MLA Priya Krishna. Despite this, his followers vandalised the dais. Taking a stock at the infrastructure shortcomings, the BBMP had taken up projects worth Rs30 crore in Mudalapalya and Nagarabhavi wards.”
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