Over the past week, 4 prominent BJP leaders - Shobha Karandlaje, Anantkumar Hegde, Basanagouda Patil Yatnal and MP Renukacharya - have made communally charged statements.
Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) President DK Shivakumar on Friday wrote to Karnataka Deputy General of Police Praveen Sood highlighting communal statements made by BJP leaders amid the lockdown over the coronavirus outbreak in the state. DK Shivakumar highlighted statements made by BJP MPs Shobha Karandlaje and Anantkumar Hegde as well as MLAs Basana Gouda Patil Yatnal and Renukacharya in his letter, urging the police chief to take action on the leaders under section 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc) of the Indian Penal Code. "All of them belonging to the BJP have thus joined in a criminal conspiracy to create enmity between Hindus and Muslims. They have further caused criminal intimidation by threatening to shoot down persons belonging to a particular community. Their statements have all the ingredients to incite communal violence and disrupt harmony. These persons are ostensibly misusing even the killer Covid-19 pandemic to further their oblique political purposes," read the letter written by Shivakumar. He urged the police to take suo motu cognisance of the statements made by the BJP leaders. TNM earlier reported that MP Shobha Karandlaje falsely claimed that attendees of the Tablighi Jamaat event, quarantined in Belagavi, had misbehaved with and spat at healthcare workers. Belagavi DC SB Bommanahalli denied that any such event took place. Anantkumar Hegde, an MP notorious for making communal statements in the past, wrote another communally charged Facebook post in which he accused the Tablighi Jamaat of involvement in 'various terrorist acts' across the world and alleged a conspiracy by the Jamaat to spread COVID-19 in India. Tablighi Jamaat is an international organisation which organises meetings at the Nizamuddin Markaz Masjid throughout the year. The masjid organises mashwaras (sermons) for people from specific states on particular dates, in addition to conducting common meetings open to followers from across the globe. Renukacharya, a BJP legislator from Davangere and Basanagouda Patil Yatnal, a BJP legislator from Vijayapura, had earlier suggested that attendees of Tablighi Jamaat should be shot. These statements come even as Karnataka Chief Minister warned against targeting Muslims over COVID-19. “Nobody should speak a word against Muslims. This is a warning. If anyone blames the entire Muslim community for some isolated incident, I'll take action against them also without a second thought. We will not give an opportunity for that," he told TV9 in an exclusive interview on Monday. But despite his statements, multiple BJP leaders have attempted to add a communal colour to the outbreak of coronavirus in the state. Karnataka has reported 43 coronavirus patients who attended the Tablighi Jamaat congregation in New Delhi.
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