Mandya/Mysuru: With the row over the removal of Hanuma Dhwaja at Keragodu in Mandya taluk taking a political turn providing a platform for the ruling Congress and the Opposition BJP and JD(S) for trading charges against each other, the Congress has said that there was no permission for the hoisting of the religious flag.

Countering the Congress claim, the Opposition JD(S) and BJP leaders said that the Keragodu GP had granted permission for the hoisting of the flag. The Opposition leaders say that 18 out of the 20 GP Members, who attended the Dec. 29 meeting, had given their approval for the hoisting of Hanuma Dhwaja.

Amidst all these charges and counter-charges, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said that the Trust had given an undertaking that no flag other than the National and Kannada flag will be hoisted on the flagpost. He questioned whether it was right to hoist the religious flag after giving such an undertaking.

Home Minister Dr. G. Parameshwara too presented the undertaking given by the Trust before the media and said that the undertaking is in the form of a Judicial letter, which says that no flag other than the National flag and Kannada flag will be hoisted. But now, the Opposition parties are claiming that this undertaking is a fake one, he said.

Meanwhile, Mandya District in-Charge Minister N. Cheluvarayaswamy, reacting to the Opposition parties blaming the ruling Congress for the Keragodu violence, said it is painful to note that former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy (HDK) is out to disturb peace in Mandya district.

Pointing out that HDK must remember that it was with the blessings of Mandya people that he became the CM, he said that the former CM must behave in a responsible manner and should not try to disturb peace and harmony among the people.

Attempt to Gherao District Minister

With the Hanuma Dhwaja removal row still in the boil at Keragodu, villagers and JD(S) workers attempted to gherao Mandya District in-Charge Minister N. Cheluvarayaswamy when the Minister was on his way to Keragodu on Tuesday afternoon.

The Police who intervened foiled the attempts of the villagers and JD(S) workers and ensured safe passage of the Minister’s car. The villagers, however, raised slogans against the Minister.

In another incident, Keragodu villagers took GP Secretary Ratnamma to task when she came to the village to remove the flexes and banners featuring photographs of JD(S) leaders installed in the village. Ratnamma defended her action saying that the Police had granted permission for the removal of flexes. However, the villagers contended that the permission must be granted either by the GP or ZP and the Police cannot grant permission concerning such matters.

DC and SP visit Keragodu

Following the massive demonstration and Padayatra taken out on Monday in protest against Hanuma Dhwaja removal and the attempts by villagers to gherao Mandya District in-Charge Minister N. Cheluvarayaswamy on Tuesday, Mandya SP N. Yathish and Deputy Commissioner (DC) Dr. Kumara visited Keragodu yesterday afternoon to gather inputs regarding the incident and the violence and protests that followed.

Protest staged in Mysuru

Alleging that the controversy over hoisting Hanuma Flag at Keregodu in Mandya was intentional to create unrest in the village, Members of the Federation of Oppressed Communities, demanding action against the culprits, staged a protest in front of the new DC’s Office at Siddarthanagar in city yesterday.

Earlier, a press meet was held at Pathrakartara Bhavan during which MLC Dr. D. Thimmaiah alleged that a few people were promoting hatred among different communities for reaping political benefits and sought action against them.

Former MLA M.K. Somashekar, who too spoke, said that the BJP leaders were known to create problems and added that the BJP was trying to create communal disturbances in Mandya district ahead of Lok Sabha polls.

Leaders Subramanya, M. Shivanna, K.S. Shivaram, Dyavappanayaka, Nagabhushan, Shivappa, Yogish Uppara and others were present.