Nikhil Kumaraswamy ends padayatra after police block entry into Bengaluru; protest on August 18 announced

Janata Dal (Secular) Youth Wing president Nikhil Kumaraswamy, who was leading a padayatra from Bidadi to Bengaluru opposing the Bidadi Township project, concluded the yatra midway at Kaniminike on Monday after the police blocked its entry into Bengaluru. Condemning the obstacles posed to the yatra by the State government, Mr. Nikhil announced that the party would hold a rally at Freedom Park on August 18, led by former Prime Minister and JD(S) supremo H.D. Deve Gowda. The Bidadi Township project has emerged as a major political flashpoint between Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar and the JD(S) in the Vokkaliga heartland.