Karnataka Bandh: Who Is Vatal Nagaraj? Know About The Man Leading Protests Against Cauvery Water Sharing
Dramatic scenes unfolded in Bengaluru on Friday after the Town Hall Police detained pro-Kannada leader Vatal Nagaraj in the state capital during the Karnataka bandh.
Nagaraj, who has been leading the protests against the Cauvery water sharing with Tamil Nadu, had showed up at the protest venue, clad in a burqa with a plastic pitcher to stage a protest.?
Kannada activist?Vatal Nagaraj detained?
Nagaraj blasted Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and the Congress government for arresting Kannada activists.
"The government is not supporting the bandh. The police are pressurising us not to stage a protest. Karnataka has been turned into a police state. The police are acting like goondas," he said.
Nagaraj said that 50,000 police personnel were deputed in Bengaluru alone. "They have deputed lakhs of policemen across Karnataka. Because of the heavy police presence, the bandh has become successful. I thank the people of the state. The government did not understand the sentiments of the people. The arrests have been made recklessly. They are making Karnataka a goonda state," he charged.
"Mr. Home Minister, when have you staged a protest or agitation? Do you think you are god? I am in a different attire today. You can call this a burqa, as well as the attire of the goddess of justice. Prime Minister Modi and the whole country should know about our protest," he said.
Who is?Vatal Nagaraj?
The 83-year-old has been one of the most prominent faces of the pro-Kannada outfits protesting against the Cauvery water-sharing deal with neighbouring Tamil Nadu.
The former MLA has been at the forefront of the protests in Karnataka for nearly a decade and has a long history of bringing Bengaluru to a halt at will with his demonstrations.
Karnataka Bandh
The Karnataka bandh of Friday was also called by Kannada Okkuta, an umbrella coalition of pro-Kannada outfits led by Nagaraj.
"Karnataka bandh will be successful; more than 1,900 organisations, associations and pro-Kannada organisations have supported it. From Belagavi or Bidar to Chamarajanagara and from Mangaluru to Kolar, everyone is ready to observe bandh," Nagaraj had said on Thursday.
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