BJP legislators hold protest demo outside Raj Bhavan; arrested

Bangalore, Jan 25 (PTI) Stepping up their demand forrecall of the Karnataka Governor for sanctioning prosecutionof Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa, BJP legislators todaystaged a protest outside the Raj Bhavan and courted arrest.

BJP MLAs and MLCs held a legislative party meeting ata hotel and then staged a march to the Raj Bhavan, a stone''sthrow away.

The BJP legislators, who were shouting slogans againstGovernor H R Bhardwaj, were stopped by policemen who had putup barricades outside Raj Bhavan.

They carried placards some of which read: "Governor goback", "Congress agent Bhardwaj down, down", "Down withpoliticisation of Raj Bhavan" and "Call back governor".

After raising anti-Governor slogans, the legislatorswho came in good strength, got into the police vans andcourted arrest. The protest passed off peacefully.

The Governor had left the Raj Bhavan minutes beforethe demonstration to attend a function.

The legislative party meeting was attended, amongothers, by senior BJP leader M Venkaiah Naidu and Yeddyurappa.

The protest came a day after a BJP delegation led bysenior leader L K Advani met President Pratibha Patil tocomplain about the "unconstitutional conduct" of the Governorand sought his recall.

BJP has complained about the "tirade" against thestate government by Bhardwaj since the day he took charge andsaid his removal was a "must to restore Constitutional order".

The move to meet Patil came in the wake of heightenedtension between Bhardwaj and the Chief Minister after theGovernor sanctioned prosecution of Yeddyurappa.

Terming Bhardwaj''s appointment as a step to "enddemocracy" in the country, the BJP said the "mindset andconduct" of the governor was motivated by "extraneous andcollateral purposes, less as a Constitutional functionary andmore as a Congress activist." PTI RS MSR BN RA