Chikkaballapur, 28 June

Chikkaballapur police on Sunday arrested four people for allegedly throwing slippers in the direction of Chikkaballapur Congress MLA Pradeep Eshwar a day earlier.

The incident broke out during the Kempegowda Jayanti programme.

JD(S) workers had gathered at the venue to protest “irresponsible and insane” remarks that Eshwar made against Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy and his family.

Eshwar had alleged that Kumaraswamy had 60 wrist watches worth crores, and questioned how his wife Anitha had purchased 32 acres of land near Bidadi.

The situation turned ugly when Eshwar was standing up from the roof of his car, challenging the crowd and twisting his moustache. The angered workers then threw slippers in his direction.

Police used CCTV footage of the crowd and arrested four of the accused, Akhil Reddy, Prakash, and Mohan Raj, with investigations still ongoing.

The incident has sent ripples in political circles. Eshwar claims that he was targeted because he was from the OBC community and alleged that Kumaraswamy was trying to intimidate him, challenging the JD(S) leader to face him at Chikkaballapura.

Chief Minister DK Shivakumar condemned the “lowly” incident on X, stating, "When we lose publicly, civilisation dies too!"

Without naming anyone, he added: You, who have dragged the ideals of democracy to the streets and put them up for auction, is the culture you're teaching your workers? Remember, such violent attacks only strengthen the path of struggle of our leaders.”