Mysuru: Thousands of supporters of Narasimharaja (NR) Constituency Congress MLA Tanveer Sait staged a massive protest in the city this afternoon, demanding that their leader be inducted into the Ministry headed by Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar.  

The protesters were later detained and released by the Police. Earlier too, the protesters had staged multiple demonstrations at Udayagiri and parts of the Narasimharaja constituency.  

The protesters assembled at the Kempegowda Circle (Manipal Hospital Junction), the entrance to the Mysuru-Bengaluru Highway, this morning and criticised senior Congress leaders for not choosing Sait for the State Cabinet.  

The protesters, comprising men and women, demanded justice for their leader. The massive protest caused a traffic jam in the area, affecting vehicular movement, which was later cleared by the City Police. 

“Sait is a popular leader of Mysuru and has been elected six times as an MLA from the NR Constituency. In addition, he is the only Muslim MLA in this region and, by overlooking Sait while selecting Ministers, Congress leaders have caused immense disappointment and discontent among the community. Being a loyal leader of the Congress party, it is not correct to ignore him,” said the protesters, who insisted that nothing less than a Ministerial berth would be acceptable. 

Chairman of the Karnataka Exhibition Authority Ayub Khan, former Mayor Pushpalatha Jagannath, former Corporators Aftab Anwar Baig and Suhail Baig, Rafeeq Ahmed, Basheer, Azeez Sait Block Congress Committee President Syed Iqbal and others participated in the protest.