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Kiran Mazumdar Shaw's tweet tagging Bommai on ‘communal divide’ creates flutter; BJP says...
Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw appealed to Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai that Karnataka should not allow any communal exclusion like banning Muslim traders from temples as the state is known for its history of inclusive economic development.
Biocon chief Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw on Thursday tagged Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai on a tweet as she drew his attention to the growing religious divide in the state in the light of the recent controversy over temple committees not allowing Muslim traders. The appeal to the chief minister to not let Karnataka get besmirched by such communal incidents has not been seen kindly by BJP leaders as Amit Malviya said Kiran Mazumdar Shaw's 'politically coloured opinion' is unfortunate.
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“Karnataka has always forged inclusive economic development and we must not allow such communal exclusion — if IT/BT became communal it would destroy our global leadership,” Kiran Mazumdar Shaw wrote and tagged CM Bommai as she appealed: "Please resolve this growing religious divide."
"Our CM is a very progressive leader. I am sure he will resolve this issue soon," the pharma company chief wrote in a subsequent tweet.
Kiran Mazumdar engaged with many Twitter users who commented on her appeal. As one Twitter user asked whether Hindu shopkeepers are allowed to set up shop outside mosques, Shaw replied: "I have seen many Hindu shop owners near mosques across Bengaluru. Since when did we start identifying shop owners based on religion?"
In some other replies, she also made it clear that she has complete trust in the chief minister as 'he is a leader who believes in harmony'. "He rightly said we should focus on growth wings not right n left wings," Shaw tweeted in reply to social media users.
"Even BJP leader N Vishwanath has said what I said. Listen to him - he is wise unlike you," Shaw said to a social media user who was trolling her.
BJP leader Amit Malviya, however, did not take Shaw's appeal well and tweeted, "It is unfortunate to see people like Kiran Shaw impose their personal, politically coloured opinion, and conflate it with India’s leadership in the ITBT sector. Rahul Bajaj once said something similar for Gujarat, it is today a leading automobile manufacturing hub. Go figure…"
Karnataka has been facing back-to-back controversies in the recent past starting with the hijab one. A fresh controversy has erupted with Hindu temple authorities not giving tenders to Muslim shopkeepers for opening stalls during festivals. A 2002 legislation has been quoted in favour of the ban. Another row has found its way in Karnataka after BJP leader CT Ravi said Halal meat is a part of an "economic jihad" by the Muslim community.
