Taking note of a call given for a Karnataka bandh on December 5 to oppose the creation of the Maratha Development Board, the Karnataka High Court on Tuesday ordered notice to the Kannada Chalavali Vatal Paksha, which has given the bandh call.
The court also ordered issue of notice to the BJP, the Congress, the Janata Dal, and the CPI (Marxist) asking them whether they are willing to ensure that their members and workers don’t violate COVID-19 norms of wearing masks and maintaining social distance during rallies / campaigns.
A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka and Justice S. Vishwajith Shetty passed the order during the hearing of a PIL petition filed by Letzkit Foundation, Bengaluru, on COVID-19 norm violations by celebrities, political leaders, and elected representatives.
When brought to the court’s notice the call given for bandh, the Bench said there was every likelihood that COVID-19 norms would be set at knot. The Bench observed that the “time has come for political parties to take responsibilities to ensure strict adherence to norms of wearing masks and maintaining social distancing during rallies” while pointing out that a large number of instances of violation of norms were by political parties during the recent bypolls to the State Assembly and other political rallies.
Pointing out that the State government for the “sake of taking action” had taken belated steps against some of the party leaders, the Bench said it was the duty of all parties to join hands with the State to ensure that the norms were strictly implemented during political rallies.
