NEW DELHI/BENGALURU: BJP MLC H Vishwanath on Thursday said some organisations and individuals have assumed extra-Constitutional powers in the state. Addressing the media, the senior legislator said the ruling BJP government in Karnataka should not be a silent spectator to such individuals and organisations and instead take a firm stand against them.
Vishwanath said the Karnataka government is not a government of VHP, Bajrang Dal or RSS, but a government of the BJP. “Who is Kalladka Prabhakar Bhat to issue any statement?” he asked, hitting out at the former over his recent remarks on the National flag, halal and Muslim vendors being prohibited from doing business during temple fairs. “This communalisation is not good and the government should intervene,” he thundered.
“The government needs to ensure happiness, peace and contentment. People’s hearts and minds should not be affected by unnecessarily stoking controversies. By breaking people’s hearts and through acts of disunity, we cannot build a robust nation,” he added.
He said the BJP in the state did not get a majority in the last election and it came to power with the help of JDS and Congress MLAs, including him. “We too have a share in this government coming to power. Remember 17 of us joined the BJP to help it form the government,” he recalled.
On the recent row over the State Government proposing to revise school textbooks with a focus on chapters that glorify Tipu Sultan, Vishwanath said the former was a historical figure who fought against the British, like Kittur Rani Channamma. “Nobody should meddle with history,” he opined.