Rallies for and against Bhardwaj in Karnataka

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Peak hour morning traffic was hit for over two hours at several places in Bengaluru on Tuesday as Congress workers blocked roads demanding dismissal of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in the state.

The BJP, on the other hand, staged counter-rallies across Karnataka, condemning governor H.R. Bhardwaj for reportedly recommending the dismissal of the state government. Carrying placards mocking chief minister B.S. Yeddyurappa and shouting slogans against his government, Congress workers held up traffic on four main avenues in East, West, South and North Bengaluru.

The avenues were blocked for an hour from 11 00 AM. "This is a symbolic protest as we do not want to cause trouble to people, but our demand for ouster of the corrupt Yeddyurappa government remains," state Congress president G. Parameshwara told reporters here. The BJP activists burnt effigies of Bhardwaj and shouted slogans against him during demonstrations in all the 30 districts. The demonstrations took place as Yeddyurappa waited in New Delhi to parade 121 legislators in front of President Pratibha Patil on Tuesday evening to prove he has majority in the 225-member Assembly that includes one nominated member.