The MLC and his son were opposed to journalists getting tested at Ambedkar Bhavan in Mandya, and accused them of spreading the coronavirus.
Visuals of Mandya’s JD(S) MLC Srikanthe Gowda, his son and associates assaulting journalists and harassing healthcare workers went viral on Saturday. “Why have you come here? Who has the illness? Have you come here to spread the illness?” Srikanthe Gowda can be heard saying in one of the videos. The journalist shooting the visuals can be heard trying to reason with the MLC. “Sir, you are a knowledgeable person, please think about what you are saying,” the journalist can be heard saying. In another video, Srikanthe Gowda’s son Krishik can be seen pushing and manhandling journalists while a police vehicle’s siren is blaring in the background. Traffic police officials can be seen pulling Krishik away and herding him into a police vehicle. What exactly happened in Mandya? At around 11.30 am, several journalists employed by Kannada news channels had gone to Ambedkar Bhavan where healthcare workers were taking their swab samples. After the Karnataka government issued directions to district administrations to test journalists for COVID-19, the Mandya Deputy Commissioner’s office had set up the testing centre for journalists at Ambedkar Bhavan. Ambedkar Bhavan is located in a residential area, and according to MLC Srikanthe Gowda, several residents had called him and asked him to shift the testing centre to a hospital instead of conducting it there. Srikanthe Gowda claimed that he had also asked the district administration officials to shift the venue for testing the journalists somewhere other than Ambedkar Bhavan. “Since there was a suspicion that journalists might have the infection, residents were scared of them entering the area. There are around 2,000 houses around Ambedkar Bhavan. What should I have told them?” Srikanthe Gowda told the media after the incident occurred. The MLC, his son and three other associates went to Ambedkar Bhavan at around 11.45 am and dragged the journalists and healthcare workers out of the testing facility. “That’s when the arguments started. The MLC’s son manhandled the journalists. One of the reporters called the police, and the traffic police, who were the closest, went and broke up the fight,” Mandya Town Police said. The Mandya Town Police have arrested the MLC’s son Krishik Gowda and the MLC’s associates, including Chandrakalavathi, Jagadish and Raju, after the incident outside Mandya’s Ambedkar Bhavan. However, Srikanthe Gowda was not arrested as the police require permission from the government for doing so since he is a member of the Legislative Council. The five of them have been booked under sections 143 (unlawful assembly), 341 (wrongful restraint), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 504 (intentional insult to provoke breach of peace), 114 (abetment to an offence), 269 (negligent act to spread an infectious disease), 270 (malignant act likely to spread an infectious disease) and 149 (unlawful assembly with common intent) of the Indian Penal Code. BJP leaders condemn Srikanthe Gowda’s actions Speaking to TV9, Mandya MP Sumalatha condemned the incident and called Srikanthe Gowda’s actions irresponsible. “He did not act responsibly. As a representative of the people, he opposed activities that were being done for the well-being of journalists. If a representative of the people can spread misinformation that coronavirus infection can spread because of testing happening in the area, then it is condemnable,” she said. She further stated that the incident had led to people gathering around and violating social distancing norms. “Day in and day out, the DC (Deputy Commissioner) and police are working hard to contain the spread. We have been advocating more testing and an MLC stopping this is very irresponsible. Social distancing must be maintained, and did he not have the common sense to not get people to gather around and create a ruckus? How is this different from what happened in Padarayanapura?” she added. Deputy Chief Minister Dr Ashwath Narayan said that although it is understandable that people are scared of the spread of the virus, one cannot stop testing more people. “People are scared everywhere and they are also scared of people getting tested in their areas. How can we operate like this? Testing and screening is necessary. We should be united in fighting this cause. We are all brothers, sisters and friends here. If this is the attitude, then we should altogether stop working to fight this and sit at home. People have been demanding that more tests should be done and we are doing just that,” Ashwath Narayan told the media.
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