Police said heavy force was deployed on the ground to prevent any stampede.
Bangalore:
Four persons have been arrested for allegedly stabbing a man in Karnataka’s Shivamogga amid communal tension over a banner bearing Vinayak Damodar Savarkar’s image.
One of the accused got shot in the leg during police action to take him into custody. He said that the man allegedly tried to attack the policemen.
District police chief BM Lakshmi Prasad said heavy force was deployed to prevent any stampede and prohibitory orders would remain in force for the next 48 hours. Schools in the area have been asked to remain closed for the next two days.
According to reports, communal clashes broke out in the area after a group allegedly removed a poster of Savarkar and put up a poster of Tipu Sultan.
Earlier, celebrations of Tipu Sultan Jayanti had triggered a face-off between his followers and the BJP and its ideological parent Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.
The violence in Shivamogga comes against the backdrop of a war of words between the ruling BJP and the opposition over the removal of Jawaharlal Nehru’s picture by the state BJP government and accommodating Sarvarkar in the advertisement of the Har Ghar Tiranga campaign.
The ruling BJP said that it was a deliberate decision. BJP spokesperson Ravi Kumar said, “India is divided into India and Pakistan because of Nehru. That’s why his picture in the newspaper was removed.”
Opposition leaders targeted the state government over the move and demanded the resignation of Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai.
State Congress President DK Shivakumar said, “It is a shame on Indian democracy and independence. India is celebrating 75 years of independence. Prime Minister should sack Basavaraj Bommai, we demand an apology.”