‘I’ve asked for an enquiry’: CM Siddaramaiah on Ballari clash

BENGALURU: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday said that he has asked for an enquiry into the clash outside BJP MLA G Janardhana Reddy’s residence in Ballari, in which one person was killed.

Speaking to reporters, Siddaramaiah said, “I have asked for an enquiry into the case and from which gun bullet was fired and how it started. There were gunmen, and bullets were also fired in the air. A person called Rajshekar died.”

One person was killed in a clash between supporters of Congress MLA Nara Bharath Reddy and BJP MLA G Janardhana Reddy outside the latter’s residence in Ballari on Thursday night. Tensions flared when Janardhana Reddy’s supporters objected to putting up banners for an upcoming event to install the Valmiki statue on January 3.

What began as a verbal altercation soon escalated, and the two groups got involved in hand-to-hand combat and stone-pelting, and later firing, prompting police to lathi-charge to disperse the crowd, police said.

#WATCH | Karnataka: A clash broke out between two groups in the Awambavi area of ​​Ballari city, allegedly over a Valmiki banner issue, last night: SP Ballari

Visuals from the spot pic.twitter.com/ZMejPtwGIV

— ANI (@ANI) January 2, 2026

Meanwhile, the Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council, Chalavadi Narayanaswamy, blamed Nara Bharath Reddy for the violence.

“The riot occurred from MLA, Bharath Reddy’s side. What was the need to put up flex banners inside the compound of Janardhan Reddy’s house? Was it wrong for Sriramulu to question this? Even after the police removed the flex, was there a need to put it up again? Was it necessary for Satish Reddy to place a chair, sit there, and get the flex banners put up? This is a symbol of Congress’s goonda culture,” he said.

“By sacrificing a life, the Congress workers have shown that a Congress goonda state will continue like this in the future as well,” he added.

Leader of Opposition in the Assembly, R Ashoka, said that the clash was a “pre-planned conspiracy” to murder the MLA G Janardhana Reddy. Ashoka also claimed that the police have been “pressurised” to label the firing outside Janardhana Reddy’s house a “misfire” after one person was killed in the clash over the banner dispute.

“A group gathered and came and put up banners inside the compound of Janardhan Reddy’s house. What fault is there on the part of Janardhan Reddy in this? They themselves fired the shots, they themselves committed the murder, and now blaming Janardhan Reddy is unforgivable. There was a pre-planned conspiracy to attack Janardhan Reddy and murder him,” he said.

“It is clear who fired the shot. They are now calling it a misfire. If it had happened from Janardhan Reddy’s side, would they have written it as a misfire? There has been pressure from above to write it as a misfire,” he added. (ANI)