Karnataka BJP leader held after threatening to behead CM
BJP leader arrested after he threatens to play football with severed head of Siddaramaiah
BENGALURU: A Karnataka BJP leader was arrested on Tuesday after he threatened to behead chief minister Siddaramaiah and “play with his severed head” if he consumed beef, an incident that comes at a time when the party and its affiliates are facing a slew of accusations of being in tolerant.
SN Channabasappa, a close aide of former chief minister BS Yeddyurappa and BJP’s Shimoga district secretary, made the remark at a protest meet organised by the party on Monday amid simmering tensions in parts of the country over cow slaughter and beef trade.
“If Siddaramaiah has guts, let him come to Shimoga and eat beef,” Channabasappa told HT on Tuesday, repeating his threat before the police action. “If he thinks we will spare him, he’s wrong. Let him kill a cow and show. We will separate his head from his body and play football with it.”
He was responding to a recent statement from the CM who said it was his right to eat beef while condemning the mob killing of a Muslim man in Uttar Pradesh over suspicions of cow slaughter.
“I have not eaten beef till now but now I will. It’s my right,” Siddaramaiah had said, daring the BJP and Sangh Parivar. “I will eat beef now. Who are you to question me?”
Police arrested the BJP leader after filing a case of criminal intimidation, though Channabasappa said the threat was “just a figure of speech.
“It is a provocative statement,” Siddaramaiah told reporters. “BJP is known for such things, that’s why we are opposing them. These people are known for intolerance. Government will take action against those who make provocative statements and spread intolerance. Nobody can threaten me.”