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BJP MLA’s remark on K’taka boy killed in Ukraine stirs row
Naveen, a fourth-year medical student at Kharkiv National Medical University, was killed on Tuesday when he stepped out of his apartment and went to a nearby supermarket to buy some provisions for himself and those bunked with him
Karnataka Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Arvind Bellad stirred controversy on Thursday after stating that “instead of one dead body, eight persons can be accommodated in a flight”, while answering a question on bringing back the body of medical student Naveen SG, who was killed in shelling in Ukraine on March 1.
Naveen, a fourth-year medical student at Kharkiv National Medical University, was killed on Tuesday when he stepped out of his apartment and went to a nearby supermarket to buy some provisions for himself and those bunked with him. He became the first Indian casualty in the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Speaking to reporters, Bellad, a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) from Hubli-Dharwad West constituency, said the government is making all efforts to bring back the body of deceased Naveen from Ukraine. However, since war is raging in the country, it has become difficult to bring back those alive while bringing back bodies is even more difficult.
“There is an effort from the government… There is a war going on there. Amidst that, an effort will be made, and if possible, the body will be returned. Bringing those alive is difficult, so bringing a dead body back would be even more difficult. More space is needed to bring a dead body on the flight. In the place required for a dead body, eight persons could be accommodated and brought back,” he said.
Soon after the incident, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai spoke to the victim’s family and assured them that they will put in all efforts to bring back his body. However, to date, the family has not got any information on the retrieval of the body.
The MLA’s comments come days after Union minister Pralhad Joshi said that 90% of students going abroad to study medicine won’t clear Indian entrance examinations, raking up controversy on Tuesday, with Opposition leaders condemning his statement at a time when thousands of Indian students are stuck in war-torn Ukraine.
Joshi made the controversial comment in Belagavi on Monday while briefing the media on the steps taken to evacuate students stranded in Ukraine. Answering a question on why so many students from Karnataka are studying abroad and whether the high course fee in the state is the reason for the migration of students, he said: “Those (students) who have returned (from Ukraine), 90% of them won’t clear the entrance examinations…”
Responding to Bellad’s statement, Sadanand, Naveen’s maternal uncle told HT on Thursday that if the government makes up its mind it can bring both the dead and alive back. “It is important to bring back those who are alive. But the poor parents have lost their son. They could not see him alive but at least after he is dead, won’t they have the desire to see his body. Not that one has to be left out for another. If they (government) makes up their mind, then both (dead and alive) can be brought back,”
Congress leaders condemned the MLAs statement. “It is absolutely insensitive from the legislator to say this. It has become habitual for BJP MPs and MLAs to make such insensitive remarks. First, the Prime Minister said that why do students go to smaller countries to study, to beat that union minister Pralhad Joshi said that students who go abroad are not meritorious, whereas Naveen has 97% marks in PU. Now, Bellad has made this statement,” said senior Congress leader Priyank Kharge.
He further added that the MLA statement raises questions about the Chief Minister’s promise to bring the student’s body at the earliest. “One of them is lying. The CM said he would heaven and earth to bring Naveen’s body back and now the MLA says this. In our culture, there is respect attached to someone’s mortal remains and this is how a party that claims to protect value thinks,” he added.
BJP spokesperson Ganesh Karnik said that MLA has made the statement in his personal capacity and it is not the party’s stand. “We won’t condemn it, because it is not the party’s stand and it is his personal opinion. Part our approach is to help the families of those affected by this war at their best. We are with the families. What he said is his stand,” Karnik said.
Meanwhile, Basava Jaya Mruthyunjaya Swamiji, a prominent Lingayat seer, said Naveen’s death has put the spot back on the demand for the OBC status for the Lingayat community in the state. On Tuesday, the victim’s father, Shekharappa Gyandagoudar, appealed to the government to bring back his son’s body and requested them to look into the problems of medical education.
“Kindly look into the matter, and donation is very bad. Intelligent students are going abroad to study. (If) they plan to get their education here they have to pay crores to get that seat. They are getting better education abroad ...my son got 97% in PUC (pre-university),” he had said.
Naveen belongs to the Lingayat community in the state, which BJP’s largest vote bank.
Responding to this statement, the seer said that it was a caste issue, where despite getting 97%, the Lingayat student was unable to get a medical seat. “If the Lingayat community had got OBS status, the students of our community wouldn’t have to go to big cities or even go abroad. He has got 97% marks, he should have got the seat, but because of reservation and donation, we have lost meritorious student,” he said.
Saying that their struggle for OBC status would continue, the seer asked chief minister Bommai to grand the community their demand for reservation. “There have been eight Lingayat CMs in the state. We don’t want you out without adding Lingayats to the central OBC list. If you don’t think, this community will view in your contempt,” he said.
