Udupi will witness a silent march and a sit-in protest on September 12, organized by the Congress party to denounce what its leaders term 'BJP obscurantism' and perceived insults targeting national Dalit leaders. KPCC campaign committee president Vinayakumar Sorake announced the state-wide demonstration, confirming that local party workers will gather in Udupi and hold a sit-in before the Gandhi statue in Ajjarakad.
Addressing a press conference at the District Congress Bhawan in Brahmagiri on September 10, Sorake launched a scathing attack on the BJP, specifically condemning their workers' act of cleaning the venue after Congress national leader Mallikarjuna Kharge delivered a speech. Sorake declared this action a direct insult not only to Dalit national leaders within the Congress but also to the 140 crore citizens of India, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, and the foundational principles of the constitution he authored. He warned that such behaviour by the BJP and the Sangh Parivar clearly indicates their ambition to drag the country back to the 18th century, actively fostering untouchability and inequality. "We strongly condemn such attempts by Sangh Parivar to re-create untouchability and inequality," Sorake stated emphatically.
The senior Congress figure further criticized what he described as a systematic targeting of opposition leaders, citing the multiple FIRs filed against Rahul Gandhi as examples of efforts to humiliate prominent party members. He quipped that the 'Modi government's achievement' seemed to be its ability to 'protect thieves.'
District Congress Campaign Committee President Harish Kini detailed the local execution of the protest, confirming that Udupi's silent march would converge at the Gandhi statue in Ajjarakad for the planned sit-in. This local action forms part of a larger, nationwide series of protests by Congress workers condemning these incidents and perceived affronts.
Prominent party members present at the Brahmagiri press conference included Udupi District Congress Executive President Kishan Hegde Kollebile, Campaign Committee Leader Dr. Subrahmanya Bhatt, Prashant Pujari, Rajesh Shetty, Dinakara Shetty, Dayananda, and Chandrika Shetty.
Image for illustration purposes only
📰 Source: Vartha Bharati Udupi