Mangaluru: BJP and CPI-M activists today staged separate black flag protests against Chief Minister Siddaramaiah as he arrived at Udupi to lay the foundation stone for a new district children's women's hospital, to be built in place of the existing government hospital. 

They were protesting against the government's decision to enter into an agreement with NRI entrepreneur B R Shetty for construction of the new hospital on Public Private Participation (PPP) basis.

The BJP workers staged their protest at Ajjarakadu, while the CPI-M activists, led by party district secretary Balakrishna Shetty, staged a black flag demonstration near the Clock tower in Udupi, police said. 

The protesters were later removed by police.