In complete breach of lockdown rules, Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa’s political secretary and BJP MLA SR Vishwanath staged a dharna with over 50 supporters outside a resort in Yelahanka on Friday.
The MLA was protesting against 35 foreign nationals who were kept in quarantine at the Royal Orchid Resort at Allalasandra village in Yelahanka which he represents in the Assembly.
The MLA and some locals from nearby villages sat outside the resort for hours, demanding that the foreigners be moved out of the resort immediately as they could be potential carriers of coronavirus.
The MLA said the foreigners were associated with the Tablighi Jamaat that had organised a congregation last month in New Delhi and which turned into one of the major hotspots for the virus’ spread.
The protesters raised slogans against the hotel management for letting the foreigners stay at the resort at the cost of the locals’ safety. Soon after, security was tightened in and around the resort.
The agitation continued till late in the evening and despite local police officer’s intervention, the MLA and his men left the spot only after the civic body was compelled to act.
The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) shifted the foreign nationals from the resort to another government-run quarantine facility.
Vishwanath said his constituency falls has not seen any COVID-19 case yet and he didn’t want to take a rise, adding he was not even informed about the foreigners being brought to the resort.
"We wanted them to vacate the resort. Yelahanka falls under the green zone and we do not want to take a risk. I am the local representative but I had no clue that their stay here. The BBMP is acting on its own. I have spoken to the chief minister as well," Vishwanath told News18.
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