Two days ahead of the February 9 bandh call given by BJP and JD(S) on the Keragodu flagstaff row, the Samana Manaskara Vedike, a forum of progressive organisations, has given a call to the people of Mandya to observe a bandh on February 7 to protect peace and harmony in the district.
Convenor of the Vedike Lakshman Cheeranahally said the bundh call for February 7 had been given to send a message that the people of Mandya will uphold peace in the district by opposing the vested interests that trying to besmirch its culture of harmony.
The bandh will be voluntary and a march will be taken out in Mandya with participants holding the national tricolour and making an appeal to maintain peace in the district.
The Vedike has appealed to the peace-loving and secular minded people to extend support to the bundh.
The bandh call had been supported by a host of organisations including Karnataka Dalit Sangharsha Samithi, Karunada Sevakara Sanghatane, Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha, and CITU had extended support to the bundh.
The bandh call for February 7 comes in the wake of the February 9 call for bundh given by BJP and JD(S), who had taken out padayatra from Keragodu to Mandya on February 29 after the authorities lowered a saffron flag from a flagstaff in Keragodu and replaced it with the national tricolour a day earlier on February 28.
The Vedike has not only appealed to the district administration to take action against the forces that had violated the law and disturbed peace in the society, but also act against the persons, who had compared the national tricolour to a “Taliban flag”.
Strongly condemning the reported raid by the protestors on the students hostel run by Kuruba community during the BJP padayatra recently, the Vedike urged the police to take action against the miscreants for allegedly going on a rampage in hostel premises and damaging the posters. Police has to take action against the forces that were trying to spread hatred among different sections of the society, the Vedike said.
The Vedike urged the political parties to behave responsibly and carry out a struggle as per the provisions of the Constitution.
