BENGALURU: Former Karnataka Minister TB Jayachandra Friday sparked a row by raking up Prime Minister Narendra Modi's statement during demonetisation that he would not get bogged down even if he was burnt alive for the decision, drawing the BJP's ire.
The Bharatiya Janata Party dubbed the Congress leader's remark "outrageous and despicable."
"The prime minister had sought 50 days time to set things right (after demonetisation). He had asked people to set him on fire alive if he failed to overcome this test ..probably the time has come to burn him alive," Jayachandra said Friday at Tumkuru.
He was taking part in a protest marking the second anniversary of demonetisation of high currency notes of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 two years ago.
Making an emotional appeal at a function in Goa in November 2016, Modi had said there were certain forces up against him that may not let him live and destroy him due to his decision on demonetisation.
He had asserted that he would not get bogged down even if he was burnt alive.
The former minister said if the prime minister has any faith in democracy, he should step down immediately.
The BJP's Karnataka unit president B S Yeddyurappa condemned the statement, saying "This is absolutely an outrageous statement by any standard and by any parameter.
What is shocking is that such a despicable statement has come from Jayachandra, who had functioned as the law and parliamentary affairs minister of our state.
"Yeddyurappa wanted to know if Congress state unit president Dinesh Gundu Rao endorsed Jayachandra's statement.