CT Ravi, the former minister, also launched an attack on the Congress-led government in the state, calling it ‘anti-Hindu and pro-Muslim’
NEW DELHI — A Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and the party MLC in Karnataka, CT Ravi, has said members of the Hindu community would respect the country’s Muslims if they “behaved”. But he warned: “Hindus would behead them if challenged. We have the power to bury those who throw stones at us. The Hindu society has that power. We did not spare Tipu (Sultan) and his father… Don’t challenge us by hitting your thighs, we will break your thighs and take your head off.”
A case has been registered against Ravi, a former minister in the state, for making a series of genocidal remarks targeting Muslims during a Ganesha Visarjan rally in Maddur in the state’s Mandya district on Sunday (September 7), reports reaching here said on Thursday.
He was addressing a rally organised by Hindutva groups in the backdrop of alleged stone-pelting during idol immersion.
Based on a complaint of a police officer, a case was registered against him under Section 196 (1) a (Promoting enmity between different groups on ground of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita at Maddur police station, a senior police officer said on Thursday.
The former minister invoked the controversial figures of Urigowda and Nanjegowda, fictional Vokkaliga warriors being popularised by right-wing groups as Tipu Sultan’s killers, claiming their “blood runs in Hindu society.”
Ravi also launched an attack on the Congress-led Karnataka government, calling it “anti-Hindu and pro-Muslim.”
Referring to the chief minister, he said: “Siddaramaiah, don’t think you will last long in power. We won’t allow this country to be destroyed.” He also urged Hindus to set aside caste divisions and unite as one community.
Targeting Muslims directly, the BJP leader said, “Hindus were born in India” while “Muslims are outsiders.”
“We have not gathered here to celebrate. We have come to tell you not to take advantage of our silence and goodness. You are trying to destroy us. Let’s all live in peace. You are the outsiders and we are born here,” he remarked.
Ravi alleged that Sunday’s stone-pelting was part of a wider conspiracy. “A test was done in Maddur to check the reaction. People from outside Maddur came here. If there is so much love for Pakistan, then those people should go there,” media reports quoted him as saying.
He also praised Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s bulldozer politics: “In Yogi’s land, JCBs have been used even against those who throw stones at the Ganesha idol. If you have the strength, do that work. Otherwise, Yogi will come here also.”
Maddur has remained tense since Sunday’s clashes during Ganesha idol immersion. Police have so far arrested 22 people. Inspector General of Police (Western Range) MB Boralingaiah said CCTV footage confirmed stone-pelting but ruled out that stones were thrown from inside the mosque.
“So far, it appears that no stones were thrown from inside the mosque. According to our information, stones were thrown from a lane near the mosque,” he clarified to the media.
Two FIRs have since been registered against around 500 people — one for burning a Muslim flag and tearing down Eid Miladun Nabi flyers, and another for stone-pelting and attempting to enter the mosque.
In response, Hindutva groups called a bandh in Maddur on Wednesday, culminating in a mass Ganesha Visarjan of nearly 25 idols under heavy police deployment.
