A BJP candidate contesting the parliamentary election in Telangana has stoked controversy after he said that "surgical strikes" should be conducted on the residences of AIMIM leaders as they had allegedly "sheltered terrorists". The BJP Lok Sabha candidate for Karimnagar constituency, Bandi Sanjay Kumar was speaking at a public meeting on Thursday when he made these remarks.
Kumar claimed that AIMIM leaders were ruining the lives of Muslim youths. AIMIM is led by Hyderabad MP, Asaduddin Owaisi, often viewed politically as a representative of the Muslim population.
He also lashed out at the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) and questioned the party's stand on the Ram Mandir issue.“TRS is no different. Do we know the party’s stance on the Ram Mandir issue? In fact, every Hindu has been hurt by false comments made by CM K Chandrasekhar Rao,” The New Indian Express quoted Kumar as saying.
Kumar was also the candidate for the BJP in the recent state elections in December 2018. The BJP state party leadership had reached out to the Election Commission and the state police in October, seeking protection for Kumar from TRS and MIM party workers. It was alleged that there was a threat to Kumar's life from the TRS leadership.
The BJP leader in the past has burnt effigies of MIM leaders.
On the day of the state assembly results, Karimnagar was tense after alleged TRS and MIM supporters threw stones at Kumar's home. Kumar lost the Karimnagar seat to TRS candidate Gangula Kamalakar.
At the public meet where he demanded a surgical strike, Kumar claimed that there has been no proper inquiry into the bomb blasts that took place at Karimnagar, Metpalli and Jagtial in the past.
He appealed to the people to vote for Prime Minister Narendra Modi for India’s protection and to vote him in for Karimnagar’s protection. He claimed to have been jailed seven times for "protecting dharma".
He also accused the TRS government of using Central funds without giving any credit. “They (TRS) have not given the Centre any credit in any of their publicity campaigns. It was the Central government that designated Karimnagar as a Smart City. It was Central funding that allowed the development of an IT park here,” he added.