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This is an archive article published on December 21, 2021
Shoot those who vandalised Rayanna statue: Karnataka minister in Assembly
Meanwhile, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai informed the House that those responsible for vandalising the statues of freedom fighters will be booked for sedition as they are “anti-national”.
K S Eshwarappa (File photo)
Amid mounting tensions between Kannada and Maharashtra activists in Karnataka, Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj, K S Eshwarappa, on Monday said those who defaced the statue of freedom fighter Sangolli Rayanna and set the Karnataka flag ablaze must be shot dead. He was speaking at the ongoing winter session of the state Assembly.
“The act of vandalising the statue of freedom fighter Sangolli Rayanna and burning the Kannada flag is highly condemnable and the miscreants should be tracked and shot dead,” he said. The statement, however, did not elicit any reaction from other members of the House.
BJP MLA Basangouda Patil Yatnal said that such incidents were intended to destabilise the government. “These incidents are being done for political and individual gains by vested interests. The people of Belagavi are those who accept nationalist ideology and the Maratha community is with the Kannada people. These incidents are carried out to destabilise the government in India and there are anti-national activities which are going on,” he alleged on Monday.
Yatnal drew criticism from the Opposition when he asked why people oppose boards in Hindi and not those in Urdu. Objecting to the statement, Congress MLAs Rizwan Arshad, Priyank Kharge and Yathindra Siddaramaiah sought that his remarks be expunged, pointing out that the BJP MLA was unnecessarily dragging the Urdu language into an unrelated issue.
However, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai informed the House that those responsible for vandalising the statues of freedom fighters will be booked for sedition as they are “anti-national”. They will also be charged under the state’s Goonda Act, he said.
Last week, pro-Kannada activists smeared ink on the face of MES leader Deepak Dalavi. Following this, Karnataka’s flag was burnt in Maharashtra and a Shivaji statue in Bengaluru and a Sangolli Rayanna statue in Belagavi district were vandalised. Soon, protests erupted among farmers and Kannada activists, while Karnataka’s flag was burnt again, and an image of social reformer Basavanna smeared with ink in Belagavi district. According to the state police, about 30 persons have been arrested so far in these cases.
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