Belagavi (Karnataka), Dec 20 (IANS): Karnataka Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj, K.S. Eshwarappa, said on the floor of the House on Monday that the miscreants who vandalised the statue of freedom fighter Sangolli Rayanna and burnt the Kannada flag must be shot.

The act of vandalising the statue of freedom fighter Sangolli Rayanna and burning Kannada flag is highly condemnable and the miscreants should be tracked and shot dead, he said.

Meanwhile, former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy demanded that the miscreants who indulged in the desecration of the statue and burning of Kannada flag must be extradited.

The organisations which were involved in the acts must be banned, he said, terming the incident as a cowardly act.

Those who are attempting to bring disharmony must not be spared, he added.

Tension prevailed in Belagavi, which boredrs Maharashtra, after a statue of Rayanna was vandalised, following news that a statue of Shivaji was damaged in Bengaluru.