Karnataka's Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister KS Eshwarappa stirred controversy on Sunday for comparing Congress MLAs to members of the transgender community.
Speaking at an event organised by the Sri Rama Sene in Bengaluru, Eshwarappa said, "What happens if we don't get Muslim votes. Before we formed the government, I met a few Congress MLAs who wanted to join the BJP. But they were afraid of losing elections as 50,000 Muslims would not vote for them." He allegedly added that such MLAs were displaying their "hijadathana", as reported by Deccan Herald.
In another controversial statement, Eshwarappa reportedly said, "Those Muslims who are patriotic vote for the BJP. Those who support Pakistan don't vote for the BJP.” He added that MLAs who were scared to join BJP were afraid of losing minority votes, The Hindu reported.
Eshwarappa further added that the Karnataka government will bring in strict legislations against cow slaughter.
He is the latest Karnataka BJP leader to advocate for a ban on cow slaughter and the consumption of beef.
Earlier, Union Minister Pralhad Joshi and State Deputy Chief Minister Ashwath Narayan called for stricter laws against cow slaughter. This was after the BJP's Cow Protection Cell submitted a memorandum to Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa over the issue.
The BJP government in Karnataka had in 2010, introduced the Karnataka Prevention of Cow Slaughter and Cattle Preservation Bill. It was passed after a long debate in the Assembly but did not get the assent of the Governor. The Siddaramaiah-led Congress government revoked the Bill in 2013.
This is not the first time Eshwarappa is in the news for making controversial statements. In April, he was criticised for stating that the BJP does not give tickets to Muslims because the community does not trust the party. "The Congress believed Muslims were vote bank. But because Muslims have stopped voting for them, they've stopped giving seats to Muslims,” he had reportedly said.
In December 2017, he landed in another controversy after a video of him purportedly telling his party workers to lie went viral. “Lie if you have to, but don't admit you don't know,” he had reportedly said.
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