Violence in Karnataka after Governor-CM spat

Bangalore: The war of words between Karnataka Governor HR Bhardwaj and Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa has sparked street violence overnight in the state. The violence started after Bhardwaj sanctioned the prosecution of Yeddyurappa on Friday night over the Chief Minister's alleged involvement in land scams.

Karnataka Police have imposed prohibitory orders in Bangalore after violence was reported from some areas of the city. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) activists have been forcefully shutting down shops in Bangalore.

Karnataka Director General of Police Ajai Kumar Singh said that Section 144 has been imposed in Bangalore till the midnight of January 23. Police have also taken 400 BJP workers in preventive detention in Bangalore.

Violence has also been reported from Belgaum, Mysore and Dharwad. Some buses were burnt in Dharwad.

However, most of the people are unaffected due to the political drama in Bangalore as Saturday and Sundays are holidays for software, BPO and corporate sector.

Meanwhile, an eight-member ministerial team staged a march to Raj Bhavan demanding that Bhardwaj provide them a copy of the order according sanction for prosecuting Yeddyurappa in alleged land scams.

The team led by Karnataka Law Minister S Suresh Kumar walked the distance of more than one km from Yeddyurappa's official residence to Raj Bhavan.

"We are walking to the Raj Bhawan to get a copy of the letter. Yes, we are open to filing a petition in the court. We are taking advice from legal experts," said Suresh Kumar.

"Since beginning we have been saying that the Governor's action is untenable. The nature of decision is malicious. Yes, that option (of filing a petition) is open. We are thinking about it. We are constantly in touch with legal experts and our leadership. We have to challenge the order of the sanction of the Governor," he said.

Our national leader Arun Jaitley is a Rajya Sabha member and also a legal luminary. We are in constant touch with him. He is guiding us, advising us," he added.

Besides Suresh Kumar, the other ministers were V Somanna, Basavaraj Bommai, Murugesh Nirani, Lakshman Savadi, Revunaik Belamagi, Govind Karjol and CH Vijayashankar.