Belagavi to Bengaluru, many places witness protests over C.T. Ravi’s remarks against Minister Laxmi Hebbalkar

A protest being held against the remarks of Union Home Minister Amit Shah on B.R. Ambedkar in Parliament and BJP leader C.T. Ravi on Minister Laxmi Hebbalkar in the Legislative Council, at Freedom Park in Bengaluru on December 21, 2024
| Photo Credit: K. BHAGYA PRAKASH

Saturday witnessed protests in various parts of Karnataka against MLC and former Minister C.T. Ravi condemning his alleged obscene remarks against Women and Child Development Minister Laxmi Hebbalkar.

Support in Belagavi

Belagavi, the home district of Ms. Hebbalkar, on Saturday, witnessed a huge protest, with hundreds of Congress members and followers of Ms. Hebbalkar marching from CPEd Ground to Chennamma Circle.

Raising slogans against him and the BJP which has stood in his support, they said the words used by the former Minister indicated the “true culture of BJP members”. They burnt Mr. Ravi in effigy and played melancholic songs. BJP leaders who raise slogans of ‘Bharat mata ki jai’ should first learn to respect women, they said.

Later, they submitted a memorandum to the Governor of Karnataka and the President through the district administration seeking Mr. Ravi’s dismissal from the Karnataka Legislative Council.

Protests against Amit Shah’s Ambedkar remark

In Bengaluru, several like-minded women’s groups and progressive organisations came together at Freedom Park to protest against the remarks of both Union Home Minister Amit Shah about B.R. Ambedkar in Parliament and Mr. Ravi in the Legislative Council on Ms. Hebbalkar.

Mr. Ravi’s alleged derogatory remarks were “un-parliamentary”, “anti-women” and “defied the decorum of the House”, they said. It also amounted to sexual harassment of a woman at her workplace, the protesters said, in a joint statement.

The protesters expressed surprise at the Council Chairperson’s statement that there was no “official evidence” of the abusive words used when they were being played by private TV channels in the public domain; the same can be made available as evidence, they said.

Protests at Sammelana venue

There was a protest by progressive groups at the ongoing Akhila Bharata Kannada Sahitya Sammelana in Mandya, demanding that Mr. Ravi be banned from attending the event. Mr. Ravi was invited to speak on the topic ‘Literature in politics: Politics in literature’, chaired by Law Minister H.K. Patil. However, the MLC did not turn up.

The protesters held placards saying ‘Go back C.T. Ravi’. They raised slogans against Mr. Ravi calling him “anti-national” and “anti-women”.