The authorities removed 'Hanuma dwaja', a saffron flag with Lord Hanuman's picture, from a 108-foot-tall flag post in Keragodu hamlet in Karnataka's Mandya, causing stressful circumstances on Sunday, news agency ANI reported. When residents of the hamlet and its surroundings, as well as members of the BJP, and JD(S), came to protest the flag's removal, police forces were deployed in large numbers as a precaution.
On BJP-JDS workers' protest in Mandya, Karnataka deputy CM DK Shivakumar said: "They should have basic common sense. Let them do politics. We respect all religions. We can't allow anyone to take the law into their hands."
The police and administration on Sunday replaced the Hanuma dwaja with the national flag on the flagpole.
The incident on Sunday sparked a political clash between the Congress administration and the opposition. To suppress the commotion, the police used a light lathi charge.
The police and administration replaced the Hanuma dwaja with the national flag on the flagpole.
According to official and police sources, the inhabitants of Keragodu and 12 adjacent villages, as well as various NGOs, sponsored the installation of the flag post near Rangamandira, PTI reported. According to reports, BJP and JD(S) workers were actively participating in the move.
They hoisted a saffron flag with Hanuman's picture. Some individuals protested the decision and filed a complaint with the authorities, prompting the taluk panchayat executive officer to order the gramme panchayat officials to remove the flag.
Several locals, especially a large number of women, fiercely opposed the removal.
Tensions rose on Sunday morning, resulting in a tense dispute among police and protesting villagers when they removed the saffron flag in front of top district authorities.
Some protesters screamed slogans against the Siddaramaiah-led Congress administration and Mandya Congress MLA Ganiga Ravikumar.
By late afternoon, the police had forcibly evicted the demonstrators and used a moderate lathi charge. Following the occurrence, the police and administration raised the Tricolour on the flagpole from which Hanuma Dwaja was previously taken.