More than 600 additional police were deployed across Mandya town on February 9 in view of a bandh called by Hindutva organisations over the Keragodu flag incident. Life seemed normal despite the bandh call. Shops remained open and vehicles were plying as usual.
The district administration had deployed strong posse of policemen drawn from the Karnataka State Reserve Police and other units in sensitive areas.
The bandh entails a bike rally from Keragodu village to Mandya town from where there will be a padayatra to the DC’s office.
The BJP, along with JD(S), had called for a Mandya bandh in protest against the lowering of the saffron flag from a 108-foot tall flagpole in Keragodu village and replacing it with the national tricolour. However, several local organisations, such as auto drivers’ union, had not extended support. Eventually, both opposition parties — BJP and its ally JD(S) — backed out of the Mandya bandh.
The non-descript village in Mandya district hit the headlines on January 28 following the move of authorities to lower a saffron flag with an image of Lord Hanuman and replaced it with the national tricolour.
The saffron flag was removed on the ground that rules did not permit hoisting any flag other than the national flag on government land. Authorities claimed that permission was issued to hoist the national flag, but the saffron flag had been hoisted, forcing them to intervene and replace it with the tricolour. This triggered a political backlash with the BJP and the Janata Dal (Secular) accusing the Congress of adopting an ‘anti-Hindu’ stance.
