Municipal workers of Hassan on Tuesday staged a protest condemning BJP candidate A. Manju’s act of washing the feet of a couple working as municipal workers ahead of the elections.
The workers, who gathered under the banner of Hassan district unit of CITU at the Hemavati Statue Circle, alleged that the BJP candidate staged the drama only to woo them in the elections.
The protesters said: “Don’t come to wash our feet with your dirty hands. We want a decent salary, regularisation of our services, and shelter”.
They appealed to the politicians not to visit their places with an intention to score political mileage ahead of the elections.
CITU district president Dharmesh said Prime Minister Narendra Modi washed the feet of workers and Mr. Manju did the same in Hassan.
“The Union government did not allocate funds for the rehabilitation of manual scavengers under the Swachh Bharat programme. Washing their feet will not relieve them of the problems they have been facing for ages,” he said. Municipal Workers’ Union general secretary Prakash, Karnataka Prantha Raitha Sangha district president H.R. Naveen Kumar, DYFI district secretary M.G. Pruthvi, and others participated in the protest.