Karnataka crisis: Azad, other Congress leaders detained in Bengaluru
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Congress workers staging a protest in front of the parliament building are standing above police barricades with effigies in hands
"Bengaluru: Senior Congress leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad, K.C. Venugopal and other party leaders from Karnataka were detained on Wednesday for staging a protest near the Raj Bhavan here, police said.
They were protesting against the alleged attempts by the BJP and the Centre to topple the 13-month-old Congress-JD-S coalition government in Karnataka.
"Azad, and many Congress leaders and cadres were taken into preventive custody, as there is a ban in force under Section 144 of the CrPC against assembling of more than five people and staging protest in the high security area," a police official told IANS.
According to the police, about 200 people, led by Azad, Venugopal and other Congress leaders led a protest march to the Raj Bhavan after addressing a gathering at Minsk Square.
Azad condemned the BJP and the Centre for their alleged attempts to topple the 13-month-old Congress-JD-S coalition government in Karnataka by engineering defections and forcing rebel legislators of the ruling allies to resign.