Kannada Chaluvali Vatal Paksha leader Vatal Nagaraj and other Kannada activists were detained by the City Police near the toll plaza at Hirebagewadi village in Belagavi taluk along the Pune-Bengaluru national highway on Friday. They were on their way to stage a protest before Suvarna Vidhan Soudha opposing the formation of Maratha Development Corporation.
Vatal Nagaraj has called for a state-wide bandh on December 5, demanding that Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa withdraw the decision of the formation of Maratha Development Corporation. He had announced that he would stage a protest before Suvarna Vidhan Soudha and block the movement of traffic on the national highway.
Vatal Nagaraj’s efforts to give the police the slip by attempting to travel in an alternative vehicle did not yield results and he was detained near the toll plaza on the national highway.
Earlier, Vatal Nagaraj told reporters that the government has been allowing leaders from Maharashtra to come to Belagavi and speak whatever they want but Kannada leaders are being prevented.
None of the activists of Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti were externed for observing Kannada Rajyotsava as a black day on November 1, he said. Nagaraj also alleged that all politicians from Belagavi district were Marathi and agents of the Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti.
BJP has been trying to woo Shiv Sena in Maharashtra and AIADMK in Tamil Nadu for its political interests, he said.
He further alleged that Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa would one day sell Suvarna Vidhan Soudha too to the rich from Maharashtra and attempt to make an impression that it was in the interests of the state.
On not opposing the formation of Veershaiva-Lingayat Development Corporation, Vatal did not respond.