Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday promised to work towards providing the steps of Town Hall for protests in the city. This comes amidst opposition to a January 2022 Police Commissioner order restricting all protests to Freedom Park.
The Chief Minister was speaking at the felicitation event of critic and writer K. Marulasiddappa in the city on Wednesday, where the issue was flagged. “The restrictions have been imposed due to a Karnataka High Court order. However, I will discuss with the Advocate-General of the State tomorrow and see what can be done to remove these restrictions and make the steps of Town Hall available for protests,” Mr. Siddaramaiah said, adding that protests were an integral part of democracy and were an important feedback mechanism for the government.
During the hearing of a suo motu Public Interest Litigation taken up by the High Court of Karnataka, on inconvenience caused by protests to the public in the city, the Police Commissioner submitted a Licensing and Regulation of Protests, Demonstrations, and Protest Marches (Bengaluru City) Order, 2021, which was notified in January 2022. This order put a blanket ban on all protests and rallies across the city and restricted them to be held only in Freedom Park.
