Black paint thrown at farmer activists

Sanjay R Murty | NT
Bengaluru

Tension prevailed at the Press Club on Saturday as miscreants threw black paint at some of the supporters of farmer leader Kodihalli Chandrashekhar minutes after a press meet by Kurubur Shanthkumar of Karnataka Sugarcane Growers’ Association.
After the attack, Chandrashekhar, who was unharmed and present inside the press club premises, spoke to reporters. He and his supporters alleged that the miscreants were JD(S) members sent by former CM H.D. Kumaraswamy to attack the farmer leader.
The allegation was based on the fact that the group that attacked the farmer’s union members wore scarves that had the JD(S) logo and Kumaraswamy’s picture on them.
Kodihalli Chandrashekhar intended to ‘clarify’ on a recent video released by a private television news channel in which he has talked about money in exchange for halting state-wide protests. “You can accuse me but you are not the Chief Justice to declare that I am guilty,” he said and urged the State Government to launch a probe into the matter.
“I have never met any minister or transport department official personally. The accusers have failed to prove any financial transactions,” he said.
He alleged that the owner of the television channel had been meeting him over a period of 7 to 8 months posing as a Chartered Accountant during which the conversations took place. The supporters of Chandrashekhar then shouted slogans against the News Channel outside the Press Club.
The State Media Convenor of the Aam Aadmi Party told News Trail that there is no need for a reaction from the party’s leadership as it is a baseless allegation. “AAP is rising as a major political alternative and is about to become extremely popular among the farmers of Karnataka. Those who are not able to tolerate this are trying to commit such mischief. The three parties are afraid of losing power and the opportunity to loot the people of the state,” he said.
Chandrashekhar had joined the party in April and pledged support to it on behalf of Karnataka Rajya Raita Sangha. The Cubbon Park Police have reportedly detained the miscreants and said that they were from the JD(S).