Karnataka CM says normalcy restored in Bangalore

New Delhi, Aug.19 (ANI): Karnataka Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar on Sunday claimed that normalcy has been restored in Bangalore in the wake of the recent

odus of people from the northeast.

He expressed confidence that the people from northeastern states who had fled from the city due to threats would return soon.

Addressing media here on Sunday on the sidelines of his meeting with Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh, Shettar said: "It is completely under control, everything is okay. We have given all the security and have taken all the precautionary measures and all the people are happy."

"They have stayed there for 10 to 12 years, they have very peacefully lived there and they have confidence in Karnataka government. Because of these rumours and everything that has happened, today morning I got the information that when they reached Guwahati, they wanted to return to Bangalore, because they treated Bangalore and Karnataka as their own state," he added.

Muslims across India have been alarmed by clashes in recent weeks between indigenous people in Assam and Muslim settlers from Bangladesh. About 75 people have been killed and more than 400,000 displaced.

The violence has angered Muslims around the world and raised tension in India where religious and ethnic divisions have simmered for decades, occasionally erupting into communal blood letting.

Rumours of revenge attacks by angry Muslims have been swirling, many carried on social media. Adding to the climate of fear was a knife attack on a Tibetan student in a town near Bangalore although the circumstances were not clear.

The jitters sent throngs of northeasterners to railway stations in the country's southern and western cities, looking for a ride home.

The police in Bangalore sought to scotch rumours of impending revenge attacks, sending a mass text message that told northeastern citizens: "Do not panic or heed to rumour."

Shettar added that investigations are on.

India's Home Secretary, R K Singh, had said on Saturday that most of the bulk messages that led to the exodus have been sourced to Pakistan.e said that the issue would be taken up with the Ministry of External Affairs.

Shettar met Raman Singh, in a bid to put forward his demand for coal linkages, as the Karnataka Government is developing a thermal plant in Chhattisgarh.

The Karnataka and Chhattisgarh governments had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in 2008 to build a thermal plant in the central Indian state. (ANI)