Updated: November 30, 2020 11:37:43 am
Karnataka Rural Development Minister KS Eshwarappa said that “it is not about putting a Muslim” in the by-election for the seat of Belagavi Lok Sabha. (File photo)
In a comment likely to fuel controversy, Karnataka Rural Development Minister KS Eshwarappa said that “there is no doubt that we (BJP) will present a Muslim” in the by-elections for the post of Belagavi Lok Sabha.
The post of Belagavi Lok Sabha was left vacant after the death of the Minister of State for Railways of the Union Suresh Angadi due to COVID-19. The date of the additional vote has not yet been announced by the Electoral Commission.
Speaking to reporters on Saturday, Eshwarappa said that Belagavi is one of the Hindutva centers. “We could give the party ticket to any Hindu community. Whoever we give it to, maybe Lingayats, Kurubas, Vokkaligas or Brahmins, but it is not about giving tickets to Muslims in Belagavi, ”he said.
“We will give tickets to the defenders of Hindutva, I don’t know if we will give them to the supporters of Sangolli Rayanna, Kittur Chennamma (Karnataka freedom fighters) or Shankaracharya,” he added.
In April last year, Eshwarappa made a similar statement in Koppal, where he said that the BJP will not give tickets to Muslims because they do not believe in the holiday. “Congress uses you only as a vote bank, it doesn’t give you a ticket. We will not give tickets to Muslims in Karnataka. Why? Because you don’t believe in us. Believe us and we will give you tickets and other things, “he had said.
However, the high-ranking BJP leader, who is from the Kuruba community, clarified that his statement was in response to a specific question about Iqbal Ansari, a political leader in the district, getting a fine.
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