Mysuru: The stone-pelting incident during a Ganesh immersion procession in Maddur, Mandya district, has taken a political turn with Congress leaders openly accusing the BJP of orchestrating communal tensions.

Police have so far arrested 24 people in connection with the violence, but the move has drawn sharp criticism from Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) spokesperson M. Lakshman, who questioned the fairness of the crackdown.

Speaking to reporters, Lakshman asked whether those arrested were genuinely involved in stone pelting or if innocents were being framed under pressure from the BJP and affiliated Hindu outfits. “Have the police verified if all 24 are guilty? If innocents are being jailed just because BJP leaders demanded action, it is a dangerous precedent,” he warned.

The Congress leader also alleged double standards in law enforcement, claiming that a woman had abused Muslims during the procession but no action was taken against her. “If she had abused Hindus instead, by now the BJP would have given her a party ticket from Maddur. This exposes their hypocrisy,” Lakshman remarked sarcastically.

Turning his attack on regional politics, he blamed the JD(S) for enabling the BJP’s entry into Mandya. “H.D. Deve Gowda and Kumaraswamy sold Mandya’s political future for power. JD(S) paved the way for BJP’s saffronisation of this district, and now BJP will eventually swallow JD(S) itself,” he said.

Lakshman also launched a scathing attack on former MP Pratap Simha, calling him an “undignified rabble-rouser.” He accused Simha of intimidating people with hired muscle and demanded a criminal case against him. “He behaves like a stray dog, biting at everyone, including Siddaramaiah. Such a reckless person should be put behind bars. If this continues, Mysuru’s people themselves will chase him away,” Lakshman thundered.

He further alleged that the Chamundi Betta “Chalo” rally in Mysuru was part of a larger BJP plan to engineer riots in Karnataka under the instructions of Union Home Minister Amit Shah. “Five thousand hired goons were brought in under the banner of Hindu Jagaran Vedike, with a plan to torch buses and trigger unrest. This is a clear conspiracy to destabilise the Congress government,” he claimed.

Demanding that the Maddur case be handed over to the National Investigation Agency (NIA), Lakshman alleged that BJP had even trained women and men in stone pelting to provoke clashes. “There is a much larger plot behind this incident, and only an NIA probe can uncover the truth,” he said. The situation in both Maddur and Mysuru remains tense, with heavy police deployment to prevent further escalation.