Bengaluru Mar 28 PTI The call for a nationwide strike by central trade unions to protest against the Centres wrong policies affecting farmers workers and common people did not affect normal life in Karnataka on Monday It was business as usual for transport services government offices and educational institutions However industrial belts in Bengaluru and some other parts of the state saw demonstrations by workers According to Prakash K of Centre of Indian Trade Unions CITU the protests and demonstrations took place in a decentralised manner in the state He claimed that banking and insurance services were hit In Bengaluru demonstrations took place in Peenya Industrial Area Bommanahalli Bommasandra KR Puram Yelahanka Bidadi Kengeri and Anekal Prakash told PTI Similarly there were protests in taluk headquarters in many parts of the state the trade union leader claimed He said there will be a centralised demonstration at Freedom Park here on Tuesday by the 10 trade unions including CITU AITUC and INTUC However the Bharat Mazdoor Sangh BMS did not participate in the two-day strike Prakash said A joint forum of central trade unions has given a call for a nationwide strike on March 28 and 29 to protest against the government policies Their demands include the scrapping of the labour codes no privatisation in any form scrapping of the National Monetisation Pipeline NMP increased allocation of wages under MNREGA Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Act and regularisation of contract workers PTI GMS RS GMS HDA HDA

Bengaluru Feb 23 PTI The Karnataka High Court hearing the hijab case on Wednesday sought to know from the state government the role of the Campus Front of India CFI On January one six girl students of a college in Udupi attended a press conference held by the CFI in the coastal town protesting against the college authorities denying them entry into classrooms wearing hijab This was four days after they requested the principal permission to wear hijab in classes which was not allowed Till then students used to wear the headscarf to the campus but entered the classroom after removing it college principal Rudre Gowda had said The institution did not have any rule on hijab-wearing since no one used to wear it to the classroom in the last 35 years The students who came with the demand had the backing of outside forces Gowda had said Senior counsel S S Naganand representing the Government PU College for Girls its principal and a teacher on Wednesday told the full bench comprising Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi Justice J M Khazi and Justice Krishna S Dixit that the hijab row was started by some students owing allegiance to CFI To this the Chief Justice sought to know what the CFI stood for and what its role was The senior counsel said the organisation was coordinating and organising protests in the state It is also a voluntary organisation which is spearheading and drumbeating in favour of students demanding wearing of hijab in class-rooms Another lawyer said the CFI is a radical organisation which is not recognised by the colleges Then Chief Justice Awasthi sought to know whether the state was aware of it to which Naganand said the Intelligence Bureau knows it Then the CJ directed the state government through Advocate General Prabhuling K Navadgi to find out When Navadgi said there is some information CJ Awasthi wondered how all of a sudden this organisations name has cropped up Naganand told the court that some teachers were threatened by CFI The teachers were afraid of lodging a complaint but now they have filed a complaint with the police he said When Justice Dixit asked when the teachers were threatened Naganand said a couple of days ago Expressing his displeasure Justice Dixit asked the AG that he should have informed the court The AG replied saying that he was not aware of the incident Naganand also said the uniform-related regulation was in force in the girls college since 2004 and had been continuing till now PTI GMS RS GMS HDA HDA