Black-cloth protest against CM over violation of protocol: BJP

Hubballi: The BJP Slum Morcha has announced a black-cloth protest against Chief Minister Siddaramaiah during the housing handover programme scheduled for January 24, alleging violation of protocol by the state government.

Addressing a press conference on Thursday, BJP Slum Morcha state general secretary Mahendra Koutal said the programme organised by the Karnataka Slum Development Board involved the distribution of around 42,000 houses across the state. He alleged that despite the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana being a Central government scheme, Union Minister Prahlad Joshi, who hails from Hubballi, was ignored in the event, amounting to a breach of protocol.

Koutal claimed that although the housing distribution was an official government programme, it was being projected as a Congress event. He further alleged that houses under the Slum Board scheme were being allotted disproportionately to Muslims, accusing the state government of following an appeasement policy.

Condemning the state government’s approach, he said the BJP would launch statewide protests and stage a black-cloth demonstration against the Chief Minister when he arrives for the programme on January 24.