<p>Talawar is facing charges of soft-pedalling a sexual harassment complaint against Shivabasavaiah made by a married lady scholar pursuing research under his guidance.<br /><br />Led by former Mayor R Purushothama, also a Dalit leader, hundreds of students, including girls, came together under the banner of Federation of Dalit Students and took out a rally from Manasagangotri to Crawford Hall.<br /><br />Alleging that Talawar and Shivabasavaiah had been targeted because they were Dalits, the students charged Medical Education and District In-charge Minister S A Ramadas with showing undue interest in escalating the issue.<br /><br />Purushothama questioned the action against Shivabasavaiah, comparing it with the cases involving Excise Minister Renukacharya and former minister Halappa.<br /><br />He accused Legislative Council chairperson Vimala Gowda and MLC Bharati Shetty of bias and said that while they vociferously spoke for the woman scholar, they did not utter a word when their own partymen faced sexual harassment charges.<br /><br />Later, activists of the BJP Yuva Morcha staged a protest at the same venue against the Dalit Federation’s remarks on Vimala Gowda and Bharati Shetty.<br /></p>
<p>Talawar is facing charges of soft-pedalling a sexual harassment complaint against Shivabasavaiah made by a married lady scholar pursuing research under his guidance.<br /><br />Led by former Mayor R Purushothama, also a Dalit leader, hundreds of students, including girls, came together under the banner of Federation of Dalit Students and took out a rally from Manasagangotri to Crawford Hall.<br /><br />Alleging that Talawar and Shivabasavaiah had been targeted because they were Dalits, the students charged Medical Education and District In-charge Minister S A Ramadas with showing undue interest in escalating the issue.<br /><br />Purushothama questioned the action against Shivabasavaiah, comparing it with the cases involving Excise Minister Renukacharya and former minister Halappa.<br /><br />He accused Legislative Council chairperson Vimala Gowda and MLC Bharati Shetty of bias and said that while they vociferously spoke for the woman scholar, they did not utter a word when their own partymen faced sexual harassment charges.<br /><br />Later, activists of the BJP Yuva Morcha staged a protest at the same venue against the Dalit Federation’s remarks on Vimala Gowda and Bharati Shetty.<br /></p>