The administration of Karnataka’s Shivamogga has banned the entry of Sri Ram Sena founder Pramod Muthalik into the district for 30 days from October 17.

Shivamogga city had witnessed communal clashes during the Eid Milad procession and the Congress government had drawn flak for its handling of the violence.

Muthalik, a fierce Hindutva proponent, was served notice by the authorities on his way to Shivamogga on Tuesday night.

He had started from Mangaluru and planned to visit the Ragigudda area in Shivamogga, where miscreants had barged inside the residences of Hindus, damaged property and attacked them.

Muthalik, reacting to the development on Wednesday, stated that he was stopped enroute to Shivamogga near Mastikatte and taken into custody. He was escorted to Davanagere district and released there.

“I will approach the court. My intention was to console Hindus who had been attacked in Ragigudda area of Shivamogga city. But the police stopped me. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is anti-Hindu. These developments are taking place as per his instructions,” Muthalik alleged.

He stirred a controversy by stating that he does not have any idea about who is exhibiting the photos of Mahatma Gandhi’s killer Nathuram Godse at the processions of Ganesh visarjan in the state.

“Nathuram Godse was not an anti-national. He had not taken supari to kill Gandhi Ji. He carried out the killing of Mahatma Gandhi in the interest of the country. That does not mean that I am defending the killing of Mahatma Gandhi. Godse was not against the nation,” he maintained.

(The story has been published via a syndicated feed with a modified headline.)