Chamarajpet MLA, B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan, who is angry with H D Deve Gowda for calling him a “descendant of Mir Sadiq”, rallied his supporters and Muslim religious leaders to protest the JD(S) chief’s remark on Tuesday.
But the 400-odd protesters were so vociferous that they spilled onto the road near the Town Hall, causing huge traffic jams in the Central Business District (CBD). They wanted Deve Gowda to withdraw his remark.
They burst firecrackers and burnt Deve Gowda’s effigy. Some of them moved towards the road and tried to block the traffic.
Others tried to join them by pushing the barricades but the police reined them in. When the crowd went uncontrollable, police caned them, asking them to leave immediately.
Traffic on the busy circle, which links the CBD with western parts of Bengaluru, was in chaos. Congestion was witnessed in and around City Market, Town Hall, JC Road, Kasturba Road, Vittal Mallya Road, Residency Road, Richmond Road, KH Road, Siddaiah Road and the surrounding areas. More then 50 policemen, including traffic police personnel, were deployed at the Town Hall junction. They managed to clear vehicles near Town Hall, after which traffic was restored.
A senior police officer said, “Had the protestors not come onto the road, there would not have been a congestion. But we managed to clear the traffic in an hour. Congestion in the surrounding areas was cleared gradually.”
On February 7, Gowda had strongly criticised Khan, who has vowed not to canvass for the JD(S) candidate in the Hebbal Assembly byelection. Khan is upset with the JD(S) for fielding a Muslim (Ismail Shariff Nana) in the bypoll. He wanted the party to field a non-Muslim candidate to facilitate the victory of the Congress nominee, C K Abdul Rahaman Sharief.
Questioning Khan’s integrity, Gowda had called him a descendent of Mir Sadiq, Tipu Sultan’s minister who betrayed him and allied with the British in the fourth Anglo-Mysore war.
But an unfazed Khan said he wouldn’t mind even if he was called an ISI agent. Deve Gowda’s remark triggered protests. Khan’s supporters threatened to besiege his house if he didn’t withdraw the remark.
Deve Gowda, who was in Chikkaballapur, appealed to JD(S) workers not to retaliate against the supporters of Khan and maintain peace.
