Kannada activists threaten to disrupt Sonia show in Bangalore

Infuriated by the Federal Government’s flip flop on the vexed border row between Karnataka and Maharashtra, Kannada activists have threatened to disrupt Congress President Sonia Gandhi’s public rally in Bangalore on Sunday.

The activists of pro-Kannada groups, who staged demonstrations in different parts of the state on Saturday to protest the withdrawal of the Federal Government’s “pro-Karnataka” stance on the border row, have threatened to storm the Palace Grounds in Bangalore, where Sonia Gandhi is expected to address a mammoth gathering of 500,000 people to mark the merger of Congress with former Deputy Chief Minister Siddaramaiah-led All India Progressive Janata Dal (AIPJD).

“We will break into the venue and shoo Sonia Gandhi out of Karnataka”, President of Karnataka Rakshana Vedike Narayan Gowda told reporters.

The Kannada activists were furious over the Congress-led Federal Government’s announcement on withdrawal of the recently submitted affidavit in the Supreme Court on the five-decade-long border row between Karnataka and Maharashtra.

The Federal Government, in its affidavit, had rejected Maharashtra’s claim on a total of 865 villages in the pre-dominantly Marathi-speaking border district of Belgaum. But, its decision to withdraw the affidavit amidst speculations that it has buckled under pressure from Maharashtra, has incensed not only the Kannada activists, but also Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy.

Kumaraswamy confirmed receipt of a fax message from the Federal Government that the affidavit has been withdrawn and a “corrected” affidavit will be submitted to the Supreme Court soon. “They said something earlier. Now they are saying something else. It is mischief”, he said.

Narayan Gowda sought to remind Federal Home Minister Shivaraj Patil that he was not the Home Minister of Maharashtra, but of entire India. “All of Belgaum is an integral part of Karnataka and we will not allow an inch of our land to be taken away”, he said.

Meanwhile, the Palace Grounds in Bangalore had been decked up for the mammoth rally to be addressed by Sonia Gandhi. The organizers, who expect about 500,000 people to turn up for the meeting, had arranged a total of 300,000 chairs.

Brushing aside the threat from Kannada activists, the Congress leaders said the merger of AIPJD with Congress at the rally was a “historic” event that will polarize secular forces in the State. Siddaramaiah said major political changes would sweep the state after the rally and mark an exodus from the JD (S), which had aligned with “communal” BJP.