Karnataka Congress' 'mega' Freedom March sends 'strong' message to BJP

Bengaluru, Aug 16 (IANS) Over one lakh people participated in the "mega" Freedom March organised by the Karnataka unit of the Congress party to celebrate 75 years of India's Independence here.

The 7-km-long march began here from Sangolli Rayanna Circle at 2 p.m. on Monday and culminated at National College Grounds in almost 4 hours.

Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) President D.K. Shivakumar and Opposition leader Siddaramaiah put up a united show yet again in public, sending out a "strong" message to the ruling BJP.

Shivakumar insisted that the Congress party fought for the independence of a pluralistic, secular and sovereign India where every section of the society gets its due share.

"We feel proud while hoisting our Tricolor, the national flag. The Congress party leaders and our forefathers Dadabhai Narojii, Mahatma Gandhi, Jawahar Lal Nehru, Sarojini Naidu, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Subhash Chandra Bose fought for an egalitarian India, a socialist country where every community gets its due. These freedom fighters would have never appreciated the divisions being created today in the name of religion," Shivakumar said.

"The BJP targets the Nehru-Gandhi family as the saffron party has no history of participation in the freedom struggle and they are jealous of the Congress and the Gandhi family because of their legacy," he asserted.

"We never forgot the struggle of Kittur Rani Chennamma and Surapur Nayaka Venkatappa Bahala," Shivakumar said asserting that the Congress party is working hard to ensure social justice in the country and that everyone stays informed about the Kannada freedom fighters.

He also said that it was B.R. Ambedkar who ensured that every Indian is treated equally while drafting the Constitution of India.

Former Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah also said that the people must remember that India got freedom after a lot of bloodshed when thousands of people sacrificed their lives for the cause.

"We must remember our history, the sacrifices of our freedom fighters who laid down their lives so that their future generations could venture into a free country. We should never forget or disrespect them. Anyone discriminating against these freedom fighters is doing injustice which is not right," Siddaramaiah said.

Popular singer Hariharan participated in the cultural event that was held at the National College ground where the Freedom March got concluded.

Kannadigas from all over the state participated in the march in huge numbers. More than 1 lakh people had registered themselves online for participating in the Congress party's event.

Adopting a sensitive approach while organising the event, the Congress party had bought 30,000 bulk metro tickets to provide free commuting to the participants "so that there would be no traffic congestion in the capital city because of the event".

People from all walks of life including women, children, and senior citizens participated in the march showing their solidarity with the cause and cherishing the hard-earned Independence the country got after a lot of sacrifices.

Top Congress leadership including AICC General Secretary incharge for Karnataka Randeep Surjewala, former Deputy Chief Minister G. Parameshwara, Leader of Opposition in Karnataka Legislative Council B.K. Hariprasad and KPCC Campaign Committee Chairman M.B. Patil were also present at the occasion.