Mandya, 29 Jan

The row over removal of a saffron flag bearing Lord Hanuman's image hoisted on a 108-ft tall flag post by the authorities at Keragodu near here intensified on Monday, as villagers and activists continued their protest and demanded that it be reinstated.

The situation remained tense, but under control in Keragodu village, a day after it witnessed strong protests and police action, following the removal of "Hanuman Dhwaja".

The incident has led to a political slugfest with the opposition BJP-JD(S) locking horns with the Congress government. Police on Sunday resorted to mild lathi charge to disperse the crowd and bring the situation under control. The police and administration had hoisted the Tricolour replacing the 'Hanuman Dhwaja'.

The protesters marched on Monday morning from Keragodu to the Deputy Commissioner's office in the district headquarters of Mandya holding saffron flags amid chants of "Jai Sri Ram". They raised slogans against the Congress government. BJP leaders C T Ravi and Preetham Gowda were among those who took part.

As the march reached Mandya city, police resorted to mild lathi charge to disperse the crowd as some of the protesters allegedly tried to target a flex with the image of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and other Congress leaders, official sources said.

A large contingent of police force has been deployed as a precautionary measure, as people of Keragodu and surrounding villages, along with BJP, JD(S) and Bajrang Dal workers and activists from other organisations continued to protest the removal of the flag and demanded that it be hoisted once again.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday accused the opposition BJP and JD(S) of trying to instigate people on the issue of removal of the flag, with an eye on the coming Lok Sabha elections.

Clarifying that the authorities had to intervene as the permission was taken to hoist the national and Kannada flag only, he also hit back at the BJP for calling him "anti-Hindu", and said, he is a Hindu, who loves people from all religions.

On Leader of Opposition R Ashoka (BJP) and State JD(S) Chief HD Kumaraswamy joining the protest, Siddaramaiah said they are engaged in instigating people. "Why are they protesting? Why are they instigating the people? What for? As elections are coming, they are doing all these things. See, we have no objection, if they (those who hoisted saffron flag) had abided by the conditions under which permission was granted by Panchayat, why would the district administration have interfered?" he added.

A large number of women from Keragodu and surrounding villages are taking part in the protests. The protests will continue till the saffron flag is re-hoisted, leaders in the forefront said. Slogans against the district administration and the Congress government were raised in the protests along with "Jai Sri Ram" chants.

In Keragodu, police have also erected barricades around the flagpole and CCTV cameras have been installed in the area to secure the place and to ensure that no untoward incident occurs, official sources said.

Most shops and establishments have remained shut in the village, they said, as protesting activists and villagers had given a call for a voluntary shutdown.

Meanwhile, BJP leaders and workers held protests at district headquarters on Monday, condemning the "anti-Hindu policy" of the Congress government and accusing it of "insulting" the national flag.

In Bengaluru, BJP staged a protest at Mysuru Bank circle under the leadership of Jayanagara MLA CK Ramamurthy and other leaders. They were detained and taken away by the police. Police said no permission was granted to stage a protest at the site.