BJP's Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya has come under fire for his tweet hitting out at pro-Kannada activists, who allegedly vandalised a Hindi language hoarding in Bengaluru.
Six activists from various pro-Kannada organisations were arrested and are presently out on bail.
Tejasvi had tweeted saying that such incidents bring "infamy to genuine Kannada lovers & activists".
Commercial Street police told The Quint that members of the Jain Community had erected a hoarding outside a prayer hall on Bhagwan Mahaveer Jain Road.
It was vandalised on Friday evening because there was no Kannada used on the board. The incident reportedly went viral after a video of the vandalism was uploaded on social media.
On Monday, pro-Kannada organisations sat in protest at Town Hall, demanding the release of their group members, as the cases against them were ‘false’.
Speaking to The Quint, Ramananda Ankola, Karnataka Ranadheera Pade State Committee member, said that Surya’s comments had unnecessarily added a ‘religious touch’ to the incident
‘Wrong to Put Religious Touch’: Pro-Kannada Groups
Ankola said that the protest was to pressurise the government to release the six people arrested under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including Section 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language.
“They just removed a board but there were no religious sentiments involved. It was not done with a communal feeling in mind but only because the board should have also mandatorily been in Kannada. Surya’s statement made the situation worse. He should not have made such a statement that communalises the issue. We demand that the cases be withdrawn,” Ankola said.
Around 150 pro-Kannada activists gathered for the protest. The six activists were arrested under Sections 427, 504, 506, 141, 147 of the IPC among others.
Twitterati Slam Surya for Urdu Remark
Several Twitter users expressed their disappointment over the fact that Surya, an elected representative, had allegedly sought to divide people on the basis of language and religion.
By pointing out that the usage of Urdu doesn’t attract the same ire, users believed that Surya was being ‘provocative’.
The hashtag #ReleaseKannadaActivists gained traction on social media soon after with several sections of the public calling for their release.
Meanwhile, former Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy has demanded that CM Yediyurappa withdraw the case against the pro-Kannada activists.
“Respected chief minister, please withdraw the case registered against pro-Kannada activists. You can show your masculinity by convincing the Centre to allocate funds (flood-related) required for the state,” Kumaraswamy tweeted in Kannada.
Action Taken as per Law: CM Yediyurappa
Meanwhile, commenting on the issue and the subsequent protests by the pro-Kannada groups, Yediyurappa said that his government was committed to serving all Kannadigas.
“Our government is committed to safeguarding the interests of every Kannadiga. Action was taken against those who created a ruckus and it was taken as per the law. It has nothing to do with them being Kannada activists. I am pro-farmer as much as I am pro-Kannada,” he said.
(With inputs from The News Minute)
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