Bengaluru: Reacting sharply to Union minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda asking him to resign for his alleged inability to contain violence in the coast, Chief Minister, Siddaramaiah on Sunday snapped that Mr Gowda must stop his party affiliates like VHP and Bajrang Dal from spreading hatred in the region.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the inauguration of Vana Mahotsava 2017, Mr Siddaramaiah said the VHP and Bajrang Dal must stop spewing communal venom. “I am not talking without basis, I have proof which suggests that many of his (Mr Gowda) partymen are trying incite communal violence wherever possible, They have chosen the coast as their testing ground,” he alleged.

Mr Siddaramaiah asserted that the Congress government had never acted in a partisan manner in such a crisis. “Be it people from Popular Front of India or VHP or any other outfit spreading rumours and vitiating the atmosphere, they will not be spared,” he retorted and reminded people that in the coast, Christians, Muslims and Hindus had lived peacefully for centuries.

Dakshina Kannada in-charge minister B. Ramanath Rai asserted that the district administration will constitute peace committees to contain violence. “MP Shobha Karandlaje and Sadananda Gowda are directly responsible for inciting violence. These two leader instigated people to violate ban orders clamped by the district administration. They do not want the district to remain calm,” he charged.