Political Rivalry, Not Communal Disharmony, Behind Bengaluru Clashes: BJP

It was local political rivalry linked to civic polls and not communal disharmony that led to the violence in Bengaluru in which three people lost their lives, the BJP government in Karnataka said today. The violence on Tuesday followed an offensive Facebook post by the nephew of a Congress MLA. However, the state government said the tussle for political space between the Congress and its ally Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) was the main trigger. Many SDPI activists are among more than 200 arrested after the violence.