Karnataka: 'No bandh in Kalaburagi tomorrow', says Police Commissioner

The Kalaburagi Police Commissioner M N Nagaraj held that permission for a bandh will not be granted in Kalaburagi in connection to the recruitment exams of different departments and to maintain law and order in the city, on Wednesday, December 18.

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A consortium of left-wing and Muslim organisations called the Peoples Forum had called for a bandh in Gulbarga tomorrow, December 19, to protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and the police attack on students at Jamia Millia Islamia and Aligarh Muslim University. 

The Kalaburagi Police Commissioner told agencies in this view that, ''No bandh allowed in Kalaburagi city tomorrow in view of recruitment exams of different departments also to maintain law and order and communal harmony in the city.”

The consortium of left-wing and Muslim organizations in the city had addressed a press conference and had earlier appealed to the people of the city to ensure that a total bandh is carried out successfully. CPI leader Maruti Manpade, senior Dalit leader Vittal Doddamani, Janata Dal(S) leader Naseer Hussain Ustad and State vice-president of the Jamiat Ahle Hadees Baba Nazar Mohammad Khan were among the top leaders involved in the consortium.

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Maruti Manpade told agencies that the members of the NEKRTC Employees Union and the Autorickshaw Drivers Union will be participating in the protest. He also requested educational institutions to declare a holiday and appealed to commercial enterprises to close down their establishments to support the bandh. 

As a precautionary measure, nearly 20 activists who had called for the bandh have been arrested in Gulbarga today, December 18. Among those, are Dalit and minority community leaders from the Peoples Forum.

The Peoples Forum is going to take out a procession from Jagat Circle to the Super Market area and lead a protest march from the Central Bus Stand to the Deputy Commissioners office.

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The Citizenship (Amendment) Act grants Indian citizenship to non-Muslims refugees of Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh who fled religious persecution and came to India before the end of 2014.

(With Inputs from ANI)