When Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah distanced himself and his party from Union minister Ananth Kumar Hegde’s anti-Dalit remarks, the Congress did not step back from calling him as a ‘political chameleon’. “Neither the BJP nor me has anything to do with Hegde’s statements. We don’t endorse such remarks,” Shah told the Dalit leaders at a meeting in Bengaluru, with the intention of seeking their support in the upcoming Karnataka assembly polls to be held on May 12.
Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala took to Twitter to give Shah this name. “BJP President, Amit Shah acts as a political chameleon and follows worst type of opportunism by publicly disowning Union Minister Anant Hegde. Will Amit Shah dare to sack Anant Hegde? Stop the doublespeak and act,” Surjewala tweeted. Meanwhile, Karnataka Congress also took no time in questioning Shah’s silence and said it showed BJP’s endorsement for hate-mongering. “Amit Shah, why can’t you answer legitimate questions raised today in Mysuru about BJP Minister Ananth Kumar Hegde insulting Dalits? Why haven’t you taken any action against your party man for such derogatory comments? This clearly shows that BJP endorses his hate-mongering (sic),” Karnataka Congress tweeted.
In January, Hegde was in Karnataka’s Ballari to address a gathering. However, he a group of Dalit activists blocked his vehicle and shouted slogans against him for his ‘changing the Constitution’ remark. Reacting to the incident later, Hegde said, “We are stubborn people. We don’t care about dogs barking on the streets. We have come to bring in change and realise the dreams of the Prime Minister.”
Also read: Union Minister Hegde does it again, compares Dalits to Dogs
The Constitution row erupted when he had said, “A few people say the constitution mentions the word secular, so you have to agree. Because it’s there in the constitution, we will respect it, but this will change in the near future. The constitution has changed many times before. We are here to change the constitution. We will change it”.
One after the other such incidents hint towards BJP’s anti-minority and anti-Dalit approach.
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