Protests erupt over dropping of ministers

The much-awaited ministry reshuffle carried out by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday led to resentment among the Congress workers in different parts of the state.

Supporters of the ministers who were dropped and the aspirants who failed to make it to the ministry staged demonstrations and also took to violence to vent their ire. A massive protest was held at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Circle in Kalaburagi against the dropping of senior minister Qamar-ul-Islam. Hundreds of his supporters set fire to tyres and vehicles. They vandalised the Congress office and damaged furniture. The police resorted to mild lathicharge to control the mob. A NEKRTC bus was set afire by the supporters of ministerial aspirant Malikayya Guttedar at Farhatabad in Afzalpur taluk.

In Bengaluru, hundreds of motorists were left stranded when the supporters of Vijayanagar MLA M Krishnappa took to the streets, after he was denied a ministerial berth. 

Ballari

Protests were held across the district, after expectations that Ballari Rural MLA N Y Gopalakrishna would find a place in the ministry were belied. Also, P T Parameshwar Naik, MLA from Hoovinahadagali was dropped from the ministry purportedly over the controversy involving DySP Anupama Shenoy who resigned in protest against his highhandedness.

Yadgir

After senior legislator A B Maalakareddy failed to find a place in the ministry, the Congress workers took to the streets. Members of the CMC, zilla panchayat and taluk panchayat coming under his Yadgir Assembly constituency as well as Congress office-bearers resigned in protest. Party workers set fire to tyres at Subhash Circle.

Belagavi

Supporters of MLA Satish Jarkiholi staged a protest in Belagavi demanding the party high command to retain him as minister or give him a key post in the party.

Members of Satish Jarkiholi Abhimani Balaga staged a protest at Rani Channamma Circle and raised slogans against Siddaramaiah. They also blocked the national highway at Kakti.

Koppal

Supporters of MLA Shivaraj Tangadagi staged a protest at Ashok Circle condemning Siddaramaiah's decision drop him from the ministry. Sangappa Sajjan, a supporter of Tangadagi, tried to commit suicide. The police intervened after he doused himself with kerosene and took him into custody. Seven ZP members resigned en masse.

Tumakuru

Hundreds of supporters of Madhugiri MLA K N Rajanna staged a protest in Tumakuru, demanding a ministerial berth for him. The protesters threatened that if Rajanna is denied a ministerial berth, all the five ZP, 17 TP and 345 GP members from Madhugiri Assembly constituency will resign en mass.

Mysuru/Chamarajanagar

Supporters of Nanjandud MLA V Srinivas Prasad have called for a bandh in Chamarajanagar and Nanjangud on Monday. Congress members in the local bodies of Nanjangud have threatened to resign if their leader is not retained in the ministry. Prasad’s supporters also staged protests in Mysuru.

Mandya

Demonstrations were held across the district over the dropping of M H Ambareesh from the Cabinet. C M Dyavappa, one of his supporters, attempted self-immolation. However, he was taken into police custody. Ambareesh’s supporters have threatened to launch an indefinite blockade of the Bengaluru-Mysuru highway from Monday.

Udupi

The Kaup block Congress members have resigned en masse to express their dissatisfaction over the removal of urban development minister Vinaykumar Sorake from the ministry.

The supporters of Deputy Speaker N H Shivashankara Reddy staged demonstration in his constituency Gauribidanur in Chikkaballapur district protesting the denial of ministerial berth to him.