Amid the prevailing tension in Karnataka’s Mandya district following the removal of a saffron flag hoisted on a 108-foot flagpole in Keragodu village, security has been beefed up in the district as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Janata Dal-Secular (JDS) have called for a protest rally from the village to the District Collector’s office.
Section 144 has been imposed in the village from Sunday and a large contingent of police personnel have been deployed.

Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) prohibits the gathering of four or more people in a specified area.

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Former Village Panchayat vice president, Virupaksha said that when the “request letter” was written, it was mentioned that the flagpole would also be used for religious purposes.
“The Chief Minister does not know the reality of this controversy. The officer at the district level has given the wrong information to the Chief Minister. When we wrote the request letter, we mentioned that would also use this for religious purposes. What we are requesting is to permit us to hoist the saffron flag,” Virupaksha said.
In his response CM Siddaramiah on Sunday said that it was not right to hoist the Bhagwa flag insted of the Indian flag.

Accusing the BJP of plotting against the state government by intimidating people in the village, the Chief Minister said, “It is no accident that the Hanuman flag is hoisted where the national flag should have been hoisted, deliberately violating the rules and protesting against the government.”

“This incident is a pre-arranged act of the BJP and Sangh Parivar. Such a situation has been created with the intention of systematically raising the people against the state government. There is no doubt that the plot to create communal riots in Mandya is a preparation for the Lok Sabha elections by the BJP leaders,” Siddaramaiah claimed.
The Chief Minister said that his government is committed to maintaining peace and order in society.

“We are not against any particular caste, religion, or community. Our stand is pro-constitutional. People should not make the mistake of following the words of BJP leaders and taking legal action. It is the duty of all of us to respect the Constitution and the law,” he asserted.

“The opposition parties are playing politics regarding the eviction of Hanumadhwaja in a village in Mandya district. It is not right to hoist the Bhagwa dhwaja instead of hoisting the flag of India. According to the rules, it is not allowed to fly any other flag on the flagpole where the national flag should be flown” the Chief Minister said.
Meanwhile, former Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai accused the state government of indulging in appeasement politics.

Bommai alleged that the law and order situation has deteriorated in the state and those involved in illegal activities were getting protection.
“The government got the Hanuman flag removed through the police officers. While Chief Minister Siddaramaiah chants the mantra of “Sarva Janangada Shanthiya Thota”, the law and order situation had deteriorated. Many incidents had been reported during the Pran Pratishthapan of Lord Ram Lalla last week. Some persons had been arrested. This has been happening everywhere. The government is playing appeasement politics and giving protection to people involved in nefarious activities,” Bommai said speaking to reporters.
Karnataka Minister and Congress MLA Priyank Kharge accused the BJP for starting their experiment of communal politics in Mandya.

“The BJP and the Sangh Parivar, who had made the coast a laboratory of communal politics for so long, have now started their experiment in Mandya. If the society is peaceful, the food eaten by the BJP will not be digested,” Kharge said in a post on ‘X’.
Kharge said that on December 29 last year, the Gourishankar Seva Trust asked for permission for the flag pole to hoist only the national flag in Keregodu village of Mandya district and on January 17, they wrote a letter stating that no other political or religious flag will be flown on the flag pole except the national flag.

On January 18, officials of Keregodu Gram Panchayat issued the permission letter with conditions that only the national flag would be hoisted and informed that the changes made should be adhered to, Kharge said.