Bengaluru: Trouble broke out at a meeting held during the BJP's Parivarthana Rally in Kundapura Monday afternoon, forcing the police to do a mild lathicharge to restore order. Party workers clashed over the entry of local MLA Mr Halady Srinivas Shetty into the BJP, with his critics taking on his supporters.
Although the crowd was chanting pro and anti-Shetty slogans even when the meeting began, the flashpoint came when state BJP chief, B S Yeddyurappa in his speech not only eulogised Mr Shetty, but also indicated he would get a ticket for the coming assembly elections.
On hearing this a section of loyal workers entered into fisticuffs with the pro-Shetty group ignoring Mr Yeddyurappa's repeated requests for calm. Finally, the police had to resort to a mild lathi-charge to bring the situation under control. Considering his clean image and popularity, the BJP is keen on re-inducting Mr Shetty into the party. He had left it after it refused to make him a minister in its last government in Karnataka. The JD (S) too is reportedly trying to woo him. ,
"This yatra will cover all the 224 constituencies of the state to build a Congress-free Karnataka and remove the government led by Siddaramaiah. We will reveal our pro-people programmes on January 28, the day the yatra will conclude after 78 days of touring the state. I am not doing this yatra to become the Chief Minister. I am doing this because I have a vision to change Karnataka into a model state," Mr Yeddurappa declared at the meeing. Meanwhile, Union Minister of State, Anant Kumar Hegde, in his speech, attacked the Congress for celebrating Tipu Jayanti . "Soon they might celebrate the birthdays of traitors like Kasab," he remarked sarcastically.
