Karnataka BJP chief slams Congress govt for registering FIR against Chandrashekar Swami

BENGALURU: Karnataka BJP president B Y Vijayendra has slammed the Congress government in the state for registering an FIR against Vishwa Vokkaliga Mahasamsthana Math seer Chandrashekar Swami, over his alleged hate speech.

“Recently, during a protest against the Waqf issue, Chandrashekar Swamiji had made certain statements. Notices were issued to farmers, mutts and temples. So the intent of the statement was quite natural. Swamiji was also upset and made a strong statement”, Vijayendra said after visiting the seer on Monday.

“It was not necessary to file an FIR against Swamiji as he had clarified, despite the that the state government registering an FIR is unfortunate. We met Swamiji today and assured full support to him”, he added.

#WATCH | Bengaluru: Over FIR filed against Seer Chandrashekar Swamiji over alleged hate speech, Karnataka BJP President BY Vijayendra says, ” Recently, during a protest against Waqf issue, Chandrashekar Swamiji had made certain statements, the intend of the statement was,… pic.twitter.com/lBZXFHeqTx

— ANI (@ANI) December 2, 2024

A case has been registered against Chandrashekar Swami for his contentious statement on the Waqf properties row. The seer sparked controversy by suggesting that a law should be enacted to strip the Muslim community of voting rights. However, he later retracted the statement, calling it a ‘slip of the tongue’.

Last Friday, Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar condemned Chandrashekarnatha Swami’s now-retracted statement while also slamming Leader of Opposition R Ashoka for staying silent when the Janata Dal (Secular) filed a case against Balagangadharanatha Swami.

Speaking to reporters at Vidhana Soudha, Shivakumar said, “The Swamiji has apologised for his statement on Muslim voting rights. I am happy about it. Everyone has voting rights in a democracy, and caste and religion must not be brought into this”.

Referring to Ashoka, Shivakumar added, “When former minister Channigappa of the JDS filed a case against Balagangadharanatha Swamiji and made him run to courts, where was Ashoka? The Swamiji had done nothing wrong, yet they pursued the case. The law is the same for everyone. Ashoka is playing with fire, and the Vokkaliga community will not forgive him”. (ANI)