BENGALURU: Deputy Chief Minister and KPCC president D K Shivakumar on Saturday blamed Gangavathi MLA and mining baron Gali Janardhana Reddy for the violence that rocked Ballari, asserting that the city had remained peaceful until Reddy’s return.
He strongly defended Congress Ballari City MLA Nara Bharath Reddy and assured him full support of the party.
Speaking at a joint press conference with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Shivakumar said there had been no disturbances in Ballari prior to Reddy’s return after the Supreme Court lifted the ban on the MLA’s entry. “After he came, violence broke out. He has no moral right to comment,” he said.
Clashes erupted on January 1 between supporters of Congress MLA Bharath Reddy and Reddy over banners related to the unveiling of a Maharshi Valmiki statue on January 3. The violence led to the death of a Congress worker, Rajashekhar, registration of FIRs on both sides, heavy police deployment and the suspension of Ballari Superintendent of Police Pavan Nejjur.
Shivakumar said maintaining peace in Ballari is the government’s top priority and stressed that those responsible would be punished following a proper investigation. He defended the Valmiki statue programme and questioned objections to posters put up across the city.
Accusing Reddy and former minister B Sriramulu of being unable to accept the Congress’s electoral victory in Ballari, Shivakumar alleged that attempts are being made to revive their past dominance. He dismissed claims of an assassination plot against Reddy as “drama” and announced the seizure of all licensed firearms in the district for verification.
A party committee, headed by former minister and chairman of guarantees program H M Revanna and consisting of members like Raichur MP Kumar Naik, former MP Jayaprakash Hegde, MLCs Jakkappanavar and Basavraj Badarli and Challakere MLA T Raghumurthy, has been constituted to study the incident, he said, adding that efforts are under way to restore normalcy in the district.