BENGALURU: The Opposition BJP and JDS on Monday hit out at the Congress State Government over the communal violence in Maddur town during a Ganesha immersion procession and the subsequent lathicharge on protestors.
JDS leader and Union Minister for Steel and Heavy Industries HD Kumaraswamy, who is the MP from Mandya, blamed the State Government for hurting the sentiments of Hindus. He said people with vested interests are behind the incident. Meanwhile, Karnataka BJP president BY Vijayendra accused the Congress government of disturbing peace in Mandya district.
Speaking to reporters in New Delhi, Kumaraswamy said that the reason for the incident was the State Government’s attitude towards Hindus. “Soon after I got to know about the incident, I spoke to the Mandya deputy commissioner and the superintendent of police and told them to take action against the miscreants.
Some decisive forces are trying to put Mandya on fire. Earlier, the same forces caused unrest in Nagamangala in Mandya,” the former CM said, blaming the Congress for its appeasement politics. “Congress is inviting its own downfall,” he added. He said that the Congress government was acting in a way that upsets the Hindus.
Meanwhile, Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R Ashoka said that after the Congress came to power, even Lord Ganesha is in distress. Ashoka said that the Congress treats Hindus as “second-class citizens”.
“They spread misinformation about Dharmasthala. Deputy CM DK Shivakumar said that Chamundeshwari temple does not belong only to Hindus. Last year, a similar unrest happened in Nagamangala, and they (police) even took Lord Ganesha to the police station in a police van. In Mandya, they did not allow the hoisting of the Hanuman flag. After the Congress came to power in the state, the toolkit has become very active,” Ashoka said.
Saying that Hindus are peace-loving and respect other religions, Vijayendra questioned how Karnataka Home Minister Dr G Parameshwara could call the lathicharge on women a minor incident.
He alleged that the Congress government’s anti-Hindu and pro-minority policies have led to the oppression of Hindus. Vijayendra also questioned why communal disturbances are happening in Karnataka.
Senior BJP leader and Chief Whip in the Legislative Council N Ravi Kumar claimed that the violence in Maddur was pre-planned. The State Government is systematically targeting Hindus, Ravi Kumar said.