HDK visits Nagamangala following violence; urges for peace, unity among communities

MANDYA: Union Minister and former Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy visited Nagamangala in Mandya district on Friday after the recent incident of stone-pelting and hurling of crude bombs at a Ganapati procession, following which violence broke out in the area on September 11.

Taking stock of the situation there, Kumaraswamy said that the situation was under control; however, he didn’t expect this kind of disturbance to happen. “Now the situation is under control. But I had not expected that this kind of disturbance would happen… It is really a painful incident… I am not supporting anyone who is disturbing society; I want a peaceful atmosphere,” he said.

He further asserted his vision that the communities should live like ‘brother and sister’. “Communities should live as brothers and sisters — that is my vision… I wanted to see the ground reality by visiting the place. After collecting all the information, I will get back to you”, he added.

Kumaraswamy examines remnants of a petrol bomb.

He also applauded the work done by the Superintendent of Police and the district administration in controlling the situation and stated that it would be unnecessary to blame anyone. “The SP and district administration have done good work, I don’t want to unnecessarily blame anyone. Because of their intervention and immediate action, things were controlled”, Kumaraswamy said.

On Thursday, Kumaraswamy slammed the Congress government in Karnataka over the communal tension in Mandya and said its “inefficiency” and protection of only “one section of society” were leading to such incidents.

“Kannadigs do not support such communal clashes. They are very peaceful. Because of the government’s inefficiency in giving some protection to one section of society, such things are happening again and again. Appeasement politics is not good. I also ran the state for two terms. I gave protection and support to all communities. It’s the government’s responsibility to look after everybody. That is important”, he said.

Kumaraswamy speaks to a midget fruit seller whose shop was destroyed.

As per Mandya deputy commissioner Dr Kumar, 54 people have been arrested related to this incident. “The situation is under control. We have deployed sufficient force and taken all precautionary measures. So far, 54 people have been arrested in this incident,” he said on Thursday.

As per the Mandya police, seven bikes and six small shops were burnt, and a total of 15 bikes and a car were slightly damaged during the incident. (ANI)