Bengaluru: A civil society group Monday urged the govt to withdraw restrictions limiting protests to Freedom Park. It passed a resolution warning of stronger resistance if the order is not revoked by Nov 26.The decision was made at a round-table discussion convened by Campaign for the Right to Protest at Gandhi Bhavan. The participants reiterated that the 2021 police order restricting protests must be revoked immediately.“If the city can be divided into five zones and the police commissionerates be broken into smaller divisions for administrative convenience, why shouldn’t there be more places to protest? Why should everyone, irrespective of whether they are staying in Electronics City or near Devanahalli, travel several kilometres through traffic to reach Freedom Park to protest?” the group said.The participants included members of trade unions and representatives of dalit, women, civil liberty, environment, student and LGBTQ+ groups.Historian Ramachandra Guha termed the stance of the Congress govt in the state as hypocritical. “In any city of a democratic country, protests take place at a place visible to the public. Bengaluru too must demand that… The hypocrisy of the Congress govt needs to be called out,” Guha stated.The right to protest must be reclaimed to save the Constitution and defend the foundation of democracy, the participants said and urged the govt to put an end to its “double standard” on the matter.S Babu, a street vendor of Karnataka Pragathipara Beedi Vyaparigala Sangha, said it is difficult for workers who are denied basic protections guaranteed by the Constitution to hold protests because of the restrictions.Sujatha, representing Sadhana Mahila Sangha, a non-profit working for the rights, safety and health of sex workers in Karnataka, said that the restriction to Freedom Park affects sex workers too: “Usually, when our sex workers are unlawfully detained in a police station, beaten or threatened by police, our protest outside the police station helps mount pressure to ensure their release. That is why we too demand that this restriction must be revoked.”The gathering also demanded that all FIRs registered for protesting outside Freedom Park be quashed.“If the state govt fails to revoke this licensing order by then (Nov 26), we will launch a city-wide mass disobedience movement on Nov 28. Pressure will be sustained continuously until these restrictions are lifted,” activist Vinay Sreenivasa explained.They also stated that the Campaign for the Right to Protest will convene another meeting to form a formal central committee.Restrictions via HC orderOn March 3, 2022, a division bench of HC passed an interim order directing the state govt to ensure that protests, processions and similar activities were held only at Freedom Park and nowhere else in Bengaluru.The court also directed that such activities be organised without adversely affecting traffic, particularly during rush hours, and that action be taken wherever traffic was disrupted. On Aug 1, 2022, HC disposed of the case.
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