Poll about Ram Mandir not growth: BJP leader

The BJP’s candidate for the Belagavi Rural seat Sanjay Patil who is seeking re-election from the constitutency, landed in trouble after the police booked a case against him for a speech he made late on Tuesday saying the May 12 polls in the state weren’t about drinking water or development but about Hindus and Muslims.

A video of Patil making the controversial statement at a rally on Tuesday had gone viral on Thursday. In the video, Patil is seen saying, “This election is not about roads or drinking water, it is is about Hindus and Muslims."

Patil then went on to advise the crowd to vote for the Congress candidate Lakshmi Hebbalkar if she said the party was in favour of constructing the Ram Temple in Ayodhya. “Let her talk about Ram mandir… and you can all vote for her. However, she can’t because she is among those who construct masjids, Babri Masjid,” he said. Hebbalkar is the president of the state Mahila Congress. Patil went on, attacking the state government for insisting on celebrating the birth anniversary of Tipu Sultan, the 18th century ruler of Mysore. “Let those who want the Babri Masjid and celebrate Tipu jayanti vote for Congress.” An FIR has been lodged by the district administration against Patil on Friday by the Belagavi Rural police under section 153A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for promoting disharmony among religions. Ilyas Ahmed, returning officer for Belagavi Rural, said a case has also been booked under the Representation of the People Act.

CM Siddaramaiah condemned the statement saying it could only be made by people who weren’t aware of the political situation. Addressing press persons in Mysuru, Siddaramaiah said, “Babri Masjid was brought down in 1992. What have they done after that? The BJP has never fought any elections on the basis of the Ram Temple issue. And it is definitely not an issue in this election.”

The BJP, too, criticised the statement, calling it an unfortunate remark.

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