As many as 50 members of various Kannada organisations were detained in Kalaburagi on Saturday while they were protesting against the State government’s decision to set up a Maratha Development Board.
The bandh call had no major impact on normal life, other than sporadic protests and demonstrations for a couple of hours. Commercial establishments functioned as usual. Autorickshaws and buses also continued to operate.
Members of Kannada Sanghatanegala Okkoota gathered at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Chowk and raised slogans against the State government and Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa and demanded the abolishing of the newly-formed Maratha Development Board as it was promoting Marathi over Kannada. Criticising the government for setting aside ₹50 crore for the board, the agitators claimed that the BJP government’s move to create the new board was to woo the Maratha vote bank for the upcoming byelections.
A group of agitators also performed ‘Urulu Seve’ at the SVP chowk…