Member of Karnataka Legislative Council and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s son Yathindra Siddaramaiah has stirred a political row in the state after he called Hindutva “dangerous” for the country.
He said that making India a Hindu-Rashtra would do no good and people should not allow it to happen.
“(Dr Bhimrao) Ambedkar once said that this country should be a secular nation. If it becomes a Hindutva nation, there is nothing more dangerous for the country. However, nowadays, for their political gains, a few parties are trying to turn this country into a one-faith nation. This is very dangerous, and we must not allow it to happen,” the Congress MLC said during an event in Bengaluru on Wednesday.
Opposition party BJP reacted strongly to Yathindra’s statement and condemned it, questioning if he is a Hindu himself.
“Is he not a Hindu? We very strongly condemn his statement. All of us should work towards Hindutva and promote our traditional culture and Sanatana Dharma. Why he made such an irresponsible statement, I’m surprised. Everyone has got the right to put forth their views in a democracy, but hurting people’s statement is not right,” BJP MLA Ashwath Narayan said.
Narayan went on to say that Yathindra Siddaramaiah should withdraw his statement and apologise to the people of the Hindu community for his statement.