Congress workers taken into custody

BANGALORE: Congress workers and leaders, including Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president Dr G Parameshwar and former minister A Krishnappa, were taken into custody ahead of the visit of senior BJP leader L K Advani, who was on his Jana Chetana Yatra, to Bangalore on Sunday.The Congress leaders and workers were staging a ‘black flag demonstration’ along the yatra route in the city which Advani was scheduled to take from the air port to the venue of the BJP’s public meeting.The police had a tough time in pursuing the Congress leaders to leave from the place, and finally they removed Dr Parameshwar and others, who tried to squat on the road in protest against police action.All the leaders and the party workers were released later by the police.Strongly criticising the ‘high-handedness of the police’ in their action against the Congress workers, the KPCC chief charged that “the BJP government had abused the police power by getting the peacefully agitating Congress activists arrested”. Coming down heavily on Advani, Parameshwar  said the BJP leader had no moral grounds to tour Karnataka, which was ruled by one of the worst corrupt governments in the country.“What face you have to come to Karnataka and it would be better if you cut short your Karnataka Yatra” he added. Stating that several BJP ministers in the state were facing corruption charges, Parameshwar asked the CM to dissolve the Assembly and face voters.