The State government has no plans to ban anti- or pro-Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) protests in the State, Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai has said.
Speaking to presspersons here on Friday, Mr. Bommai said that the government had no plans to ban either anti- or pro-CAA protests in the State as had been done in Kerala.
He said that the right to protest emerges from the Constitution; it gives citizens the right to assemble and protest peacefully without carrying any arms. But the protestors, in this case, were resorting to violence and taking the law into their hands. Stringent action would be taken against troublemakers who were trying to disturb the secular fabric of society, he added.
Victory for State
The Supreme Court’s directions to the Centre for gazette notification of the tribunal’s interim order in the Mahadayi row has come as a major victory for the State, he said.
He expressed it as a victory for the agitators who fought relentlessly over the Mahadayi river water sharing issue. He said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has played a major role in ending a long-stretched-out battle for a share of water under the Mahadayi project for drinking purposes.
The Minister refused to comment on BJP MLA Basangouda Patil Yatnal’s remarks against freedom fighter H.S. Doreswamy.
Asked about the developments in the case filed against those who raised anti-national slogans at a rally in Bengaluru, “We can never tolerate such anti-national activities,” Mr. Bommai replied.
