Baig’s attack on PM kicks up a row; BJP calls for his sacking

Video shows Congress minister abusing PM in Tamil; he also makes snide remarks against BJP leaders Yeddyurappa and Shobha; offers lame excuse for episode.
Baig’s attack on PM kicks up a row; BJP calls for his sacking

BENGALURU: State Minister for Urban Development Roshan Baig has landed in an unsavoury row for using expletives against PM Narendra Modi and later offering a lame excuse for his use of the offensive language. The video of his offensive speech went viral on Friday, with state BJP leaders demanding his removal from the ministry. In the video, Baig is seen addressing a gathering of Congress workers in Pulikeshi Nagar constituency, which has a sizeable Tamil population, and seen playing to the gallery by bashing Modi in Tamil.

In his speech, Baig ridiculed Modi for his demonetisation move and abused the PM, using vulgar words. Baig also trained his guns on former CM BS Yeddyurappa and BJP State General Secretary Shobha Karandlaje. Highlighting Siddaramaiah’s welfare schemes like Anna Bhagya and Indira Canteen, Baig made derogatory references to Yeddyurappa and Shobha.

As  the video triggered a furore, Baig tried to defend himself by attributing the entire episode to his poor understanding of Tamil and said that he had highest respect for the PM. The  minister in a statement said: “I know tooti phooti (broken) Tamil and I never use such language and never used it against our PM. I don’t use such words against even servants (sic). BJP does not have anything to highlight so they are just raising questions against Congress  leaders and today they are targeting me.”

With the Congress leaders squirming over Baig’s remarks and subsequent apology, the BJP launched a sharp attack against the minister. Yeddyurappa said that Baig’s remarks were an  insult of not only the PM but of 125 crore Indians. He took a dig at Baig saying that the minister must have experienced a lot of difficulty after the ban on high denomination notes and hence expressed his pain and agony at a public meeting. “The language reflects the culture of the person,” the BJP president said.

Related Stories

No stories found.
The New Indian Express
www.newindianexpress.com