‘Open call for violence’: Owaisi on BJP min's 'finish off Siddaramaiah' remark

AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi hit out at Karnataka minister, Dr CN Ashwath Narayan, for his statements against senior Congress leader Siddaramaiah, saying they are an open call for violence, murder and genocide. The BJP minister had said the former CM should be “finished off” like Tipu Sultan.

AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi on Thursday condemned the statements of Karnataka higher education minister Dr CN Ashwath Narayan, saying they are an open call for violence, murder and genocide. The BJP minister had on Wednesday sparked a fresh row after comparing senior Congress leader and former chief minister Siddaramaiah to Tipu Sultan and urging the public to “finish him off”.

AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi spoke to reporters on Thursday. (ANI)

"You want Tipu Sultan or Savarkar? Where should we send Tipu Sultan? What did Uri Gowda and Nanje Gowda do? That's how they should be smashed," Dr CN Ashwath Narayan had said at a public event. He said the leader of opposition should be “finished off” like Uri Gowda and Nanje Gowda - Vokkaliga leaders - had killed Tipu Sultan.

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In response, AIMIM leader Owaisi said, “I am taking Tipu Sultan's name, let me see what you will do. Does the PM agree with what the Karnataka BJP president has said? This is an open call for violence, murder and genocide. Will BJP govt in Karnataka not take action against this? This is hatred.”

The statements have sparked sharp reactions from several opposition leaders, with the Karnataka Congress filing a complaint against Dr CN Ashwath Narayan on Thursday for allegedly invoking violence with the “finish off Siddaramaiah” remark. The complaint was lodged at Bengaluru's Malleshwaram police station, news agency ANI reported.

Adding fuel to the row, Karnataka state BJP president Nalin Kumar Kateel also repeated his controversial remarks on the upcoming assembly polls being about Tipu Sultan vs Savarkar. He also appealed people to chase out "Tipu Sultan descendants" by voting for "Sri Ram and Hanuman" instead.

READ | "This election is all about Tipu vs Savarkar", says Karnataka BJP chief

“We are devotees of Sri Rama and Hanuman. We are not Tipu descendants; we shall send Tipu Sultan descendants back home,” Kateel said, taking a dig against the Congress.

“I challenge on the land of Hanuman, people who love Tipu Sultan should not stay here, people who do Ram Bhajan and pray to Hanuman should stay here,” he added.

(With ANI inputs)