K'taka will burn if you touch RSS veteran Kalladka: Yeddyurappa to Cong

Mangaluru-Bengaluru: There are no signs of peace returning to strife torn Dakshina Kannada district especially Bantwal anytime soon with the opposition BJP boycotting a peace meeting chaired by district in-charge minister Ramanath Rai on Thursday.

The district has been on the boil ever since the murder of an SDPI activist a month ago, followed by the killing of RSS sympathiser, Sharath Madivala and incidents of stone-pelting during Sharath's funeral procession.

Adding fuel to the fire is BJP state president B.S. Yeddyurappa, who warned that any attempt to arrest RSS veteran Kalladka Prabhakar Bhat, whom Congress accuses of masterminding the violence, would be met with a strong response. "The state will burn, the government will be responsible for the collapse of law and order," he said.

The war of words hit a new low with BSY accusing Congress general secretary in-charge of Karnataka, KC Venugopal, of resorting to "dividing communities through discord as his party does in Kerala".

The violence coming ahead of the Assembly polls, now barely 10 months away, could polarise voters in the coastal districts on religious lines.

BSY however dismissed allegations his party was playing the communal card to consolidate the Hindu vote, saying, "We are confident of winning 150 of the 224 seats on the basis of our popularity, achievements of Modi and highlighting failures of Siddaramaiah government."