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Karnataka Home Minister Defends Ganesh Procession Restrictions as Routine

By Drooid · Sep 15, 2026, 4:13 AM UTC · How we work

Summary

Kharge Defends Procession Restrictions

Karnataka Home Minister Priyank Kharge defended Ganesh Chaturthi procession restrictions as routine.
He said identical SOPs were used during Eid, rejecting BJP anti-Hindu accusations.
Inspector Dhananjay warned organizers not to march past a mosque or burst firecrackers.
Mysuru Superintendent Mallikarjuna Baladandi said traditional routes remained allowed.
Kharge noted 80,558 Ganesh processions in 2025 used over 1,02,000 police and security personnel.

Summary

Kharge Calls Parrots

Kharge defended limiting Vande Mataram to two stanzas, citing Gandhi, Bose and Tagore.
The Union Home Ministry ordered all six stanzas for the song’s 150th anniversary.
Congress Working Committee on Aug 19 reaffirmed its 1937 resolution to sing only two stanzas.
Kharge called the CBI, Income Tax Department and Enforcement Directorate ‘caged parrots’ of the Centre.
He cited 196 raids, two convictions, 98% opposition targeting, and demanded evidence disclosure.

History

Historical Context

VHP’s 1980s campaign for a temple at the 16th-century Babri Masjid culminated in the 6 December 1992 rally of about 150,000 VHP and BJP supporters that demolished the mosque. The demolition triggered riots killing over 2,000 people, led Prime Minister P. V. Narasimha Rao to deploy roughly 30,000 police and impose SOPs that Karnataka Home Minister Priyank Kharge now cites to restrict Ganesh Chaturthi routes and Vande Mataram verses.

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Kharge Defends Procession Restrictions

Karnataka Home Minister Priyank Kharge defended Ganesh Chaturthi procession restrictions as routine.
He said identical SOPs were used during Eid, rejecting BJP anti-Hindu accusations.
Inspector Dhananjay warned organizers not to march past a mosque or burst firecrackers.
Mysuru Superintendent Mallikarjuna Baladandi said traditional routes remained allowed.
Kharge noted 80,558 Ganesh processions in 2025 used over 1,02,000 police and security personnel.

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