Undeclared emergency in country, don't know if democracy exists: Siddaramaiah

Day after Section 144 was imposed in parts of Karnataka in view of protests over the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), former Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday said he doesn't know if democracy exists in the country.

"It is an undeclared emergency," said Siddarmaiah while addressing media persons here at his residence.

On Thursday, Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) was imposed in various parts of the state, which prohibits the assembly of four or more people in an area.

The police have also imposed Section 144 in Bengaluru for the next three days.

"No court has said that you cannot stage protests when Section 144 is imposed. This is a murder of democracy and an undeclared emergency. In Kashmir, Farooq Abdulla, and Mehbooba Mufti have been detained and are under house arrest. These types of incidents can happen only in a fascist country," added Siddaramaiah.

Earlier in the day, the Commissioner of Police, Mangaluru, had issued a notice to the Congress leader in connection with his visit to the city, stating that it may lead to 'law and order situation'.

"Yesterday I wanted to go to Mangaluru but the police didn't give me the permission to land our charted flight at the airport. As per the notice issued to me, I cannot go to Mangaluru by train, bus or car," he said.

"I don't know if democracy is there in the state or at the Centre. If the situation is favourable for them, why not for me. We aren't going to provoke people there. We don't have to learn lessons about law and order from them," added the leader.

Siddaramaiah also condemned the killing of two people in the alleged police firing in Mangaluru on December 19, during a protest over CAA.

The CAA grants Indian citizenship to Hindu, Christian, Sikh, Buddhist and Parsi refugees from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh, who came to India on or before December 31, 2014.