Udupi: Congress workers, including a municipal councillor, gheraoed Women and Child Welfare Minister Jaimala immediately after the completion of the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi at the Congress Bhavan here on Tuesday.

They were demanding action against Superintendent of Police Laxman Nimbargi for caning workers of political parties, including the Congress, and some municipal councillors during the Bharat Bandh on September 10.

Ramesh Kanchan, municipal councillor, who led the Congress workers, confronted Ms. Jaimala. They were peeved that Ms. Jaimala had neither taken any stand or any action in the matter.

Mr. Kanchan told Ms. Jaimala that the lathi-charge against the Congress workers and municipal councillors during Bharat Bandh was a heavy-handed measure. This showed that there was hardly any respect for elected representatives.

Ms. Jaimala tried to pacify the workers and said that she had got all the details of the lathi-charge from the former Congress Ministers Vinay Kumar Sorake and Pramod Madhwaraj. She had then questioned Mr. Nimbargi about it, but the latter had told her that he was not left with any other alternative but to order a lathi-charge to bring the situation under control. She had directed Mr. Nimbargi to take appropriate action in the matter, she said.