Bidadi row: JD(S) plans march from July 30; BJP keen on joint protest
A day after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) announced that it would launch a padayatra from Bidadi to Bengaluru against the Greater Bengaluru Integrated Township
A day after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) announced that it would launch a padayatra from Bidadi to Bengaluru against the Greater Bengaluru Integrated Township (GBIT), its NDA partner, the Janata Dal (Secular), held a separate press conference on Saturday and announced its own padayatra. While the BJP said it was yet to decide the dates of its padayatra, the JD(S) announced its march would begin on July 30 and reach Bengaluru on August 1. As per the plans, Union Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy will flag off the rally at Bairamangala Circle, where farmers have been protesting against the project for the past 495 days.
JD(S) youth wing president Nikhil Kumaraswamy will lead the rally. On the first day, the march will cover 15 km, followed by 16 km on July 31 and 8 km on August 1 before reaching Freedom Park, where a public meeting will be held. The JD(S) said farmers from the region would also take part in the march. Second march This will be the second rally organised by the JD(S), as Mr. Nikhil had earlier led an 11-km march from Anchipura village near Bidadi to Hosuru, covering eight villages.
It was the party’s first on-ground protest against the project. The BJP’s first large-scale protest came on Friday at Freedom Park, which also saw the participation of former Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa. Rallying together BJP MLC N. Ravi Kumar said that the party had to decide on the next course of action after the protest but could not establish contact with senior JD(S) leaders. As a result, it announced the march without finalising the dates. “We will hold a meeting with the JD(S) and undertake the march together,” he said, adding that BJP had no issues with the dates announced for the march by the JD(S).
Chief Minister reacts Reacting to the announcement of the rally, Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar said the coalition was free to do whatever it wanted, as it was acting in its political interests. “They should remind themselves that the project is not mine but theirs. They started this,” Mr. Shivakumar reiterated.
The BriefWire