In a Congress meeting on Thursday, January 13, senior leaders came to a consensus to drop the Mekedatu Padayatra for now and postpone it. The Mekadatu padayatra was scheduled to enter Bengaluru city tomorrow.
Also Read:
U.S consumer Prices Spike Highest In 40 Years As The Nation Gets Close To Inflation
Congress Leaders, at a meeting in Karnataka’s Ramanagara city on Thursday, January 13, decided to drop the Mekedatu padayatra which was supposed to enter Benagaluru city tomorrow. They said that it would be postponed to a future date.
The Karnataka Congress has decided to suspend Mekedatu padayatra in view of the rising covid cases in the state. The decision was announced following a meeting at the Ramanagara party office. The meeting was attended by senior leaders Siddaramaiah and D K Shivakumar, among others. It comes amidst numerous FIRs and mounting criticism from the High Court and various BJP leaders. CM Basavaraj Bommai, who tested positive for Covid-19 for the second time, also wrote to the Congress leaders, assuring them the Mekedatu project will be implemented and urging the party to withdraw the padayatra.
The 10-day padayatra with the theme ‘Namma Neeru Namma Hakku’ (Our water, Our right) began at Sangama, the confluence of Cauvery and Arkavathi rivers at Kanakapura in Ramanagara district on January 9. The march from Mekedatu to Bengaluru, was scheduled to pass through Kanakapura, Ramanagara and Bidadi, was meant to culminate at Basavanagudi in Bengaluru on January 19. However, earlier on Thursday, the BBMP had cancelled the permission it had granted for the use of Basavanagudi college ground for the final event.
After a brief meeting, state Congress president D K Shivakumar and former Chief Minister and senior party leader Siddaramaiah addressed a press meet Friday and confirmed the withdrawal. Siddaramaiah said, “We are withdrawing the march for now and will continue our agitation once the Covid-19 situation in the state is under control.”