A huge protest march was held in Bengaluru, Karnataka on 19th February, (Saturday) demanding that a district judge who objected to placing Bhimrao Ambedkar’s portrait next to Mahatma Gandhi’s portrait on 26th January, Republic Day in Raichur be suspended.
The massive rally which clogged the Anand Rao circle flyover, prompted Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai to meet the protesters in Freedom Park. Accepting their memorandum, Bommai promised to convey their demands to the relevant people. CM Bommai meeting protesters at the park was unusual in itself.
Visuals of the protest showed a sea of people holding up the blue flags of the Karnataka Dalit Sangharsha as well as that some flags of the SDPI. According to reports, the rally saw sloganeering as well, with people shouting ‘We want justice’ and that the ‘Government does not belong to anyone’s father’.
Scores of people were also seen in blue t-shirts, holding up placards with BR Ambedkar’s photo on it. Photographs also showed a sea of people taking up the Maurya Circle flyover as they looked to march towards Vidhana Soudha.