Congress agitates at Bengaluru civic body head office against Town Hall protest ban

Protest

Congress workers sat on the footsteps of the council building and shouted slogans against the ruling BJP.

Soumya Chatterjee

Protesting against the newly enforced ban on protests in front of the age-old Puttannachetty Town Hall in Bengaluru by the city Mayor Goutham Kumar, the Congress staged a demonstration at the civic body headquarters on Tuesday morning. Congress workers sat on the footsteps of the council building and shouted slogans holding placards saying, “Ruling BJP party are not aware of Democracy and Right to Protest.” The protesters demanded that the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike Council roll back the decision. The BBMP head office incidentally is just over 500 metres away from Town Hall, which has seen protests in the city over the decades over a wide array of issues. Even the recent wave of protests against the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC) were held at Town Hall. ಬೆಂಗಳೂರಿನ ಟೌನ್ ಹಾಲ್ ಮುಂಭಾಗ ಪ್ರತಿಭಟನೆ ನಡೆಸುವ ಹಕ್ಕನ್ನು ಬಿಜೆಪಿಯ ಬಿಬಿಎಂಪಿ ಆಡಳಿತ ವರ್ಗ ಕಿತ್ತುಕೊಳ್ಳುವ ಮೂಲಕ ಜನರ ಪ್ರತಿಭಟನೆಗಳನ್ನು ಹತ್ತಿಕ್ಕಲಾಗುತ್ತಿರುವುದರ ಜೊತೆಗೆ ಸಾರ್ವಜನಿಕರ ಅಭಿವ್ಯಕ್ತಿ ಸ್ವಾತಂತ್ರ್ಯವನ್ನು ಮೊಟಕುಗೊಳಿಸುತ್ತಿರುವುದನ್ನು ಖಂಡಿಸಿ ಬೆಂಗಳೂರು ಜಿಲ್ಲಾ ಕಾಂಗ್ರೆಸ್'ನಿಂದ ಪ್ರತಿಭಟನೆ. pic.twitter.com/Xn0jzW0gDh — Karnataka Congress (@INCKarnataka) March 3, 2020 On Saturday however, the BJP led by its Mayor passed a resolution unilaterally to ban protests at the iconic location, citing a slump in revenues from reservations at Town Hall due to continuous protests. Read: No more protests outside Town Hall: Bengaluru civic body passes resolution BBMP officials told TNM that the Finance Department had approached BBMP Commissioner Anil Kumar citing a drop in revenues, who in turn had suggested that the Mayor to take the step. As of March 1, the number of reservations for the current financial year was 58, compared to 88 reservations made for the financial year 2018-19. Reiterating the decision, speaking to TNM on Tuesday, Mayor Goutham Kumar said, “In Bengaluru, we have several places designated for protests like Maurya Circle, Freedom Park and Anand Rao Circle. Town Hall is located near a major junction and protests there lead to severe traffic jams near the Canara Bank signal and the one near the BBMP office. We must think about not inconveniencing the public as well." However, independent activists have called it stifling of dissent and said, unlike the Town Hall, no other venue is as easily approachable from all sides of the city.  Also read: Slump in reservations for Bengaluru’s Town Hall cited as reason for protest ban  

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