KALABURAGI: A former zilla panchayat member has announced a reward of Rs 1 crore to anyone who chops off Union Minister Anantkumar Hegde’s tongue for his controversial remarks on the Indian Constitution.
Former Kalaburagi zilla panchayat member Gurushant Pattedar said he had announced the "bounty" because Hegde's comment had pained Dalits, Muslims, backward classes and secular people.
Gurushant Pattedar termed the statement of Hegde as “instigative” which would create “unrest” in society. Nobody would forgive those who harm the secular credentials of the country, the dalit leader said.
“This is not the first time that Hegde has made the controversial statements. It has become a habit for him. If any one chops off his tongue and shows it to me, I will reward him `1 crore”, Pattedar declared and asked the President of India to sack Hegde from the Cabinet immediately.
Pattedar, who is currently associated with the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), said he was announcing the "bounty" on his volition.
"I'm ready to give the bounty amount to anyone who chops Hegde's tongue and brings it in one month's time, by January 26," he said.
He also accused Hegde of "denigrating" the Constitution.
In a separate press conference, Aland MLA B R Patil observed that Hegde’s statement is “not his own” and he is “speaking the mind of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah”.
“The RSS has not accepted the Indian Constitution or the Indian flag. Due to pressure from various circles, the RSS head office has started hoisting the national flag on Independence Day and Republic Day. What Hegde said is the philosophy of the RSS to which he belongs,” Patil said.
Meanwhile, CPI(M) staged a protest in front of the Deputy Commissioner’s office and burnt an effigy of the minister. They demanded that the government “banish” him from the country.
Hegde, the minister for skill development and entrepreneurship had kicked up a controversy on Sunday when he said at an event in Kukanur town in Koppal district that people who "call themselves secular" were unaware of their parentage.
He said he was happy if people recalled their religion or caste with pride.
"I feel happy because he (the person) knows about his blood, but I don't know what to call those who call themselves secular," the minister had said.
Hegde then said, "Those who, without knowing about their parental blood, call themselves secular, they don't have their own identity... They don't know about their parentage, but they are intellectuals." He also said while he respected the Constitution, "it will be changed in the days to come".
"We are here for that and that is why we have come," the five-time Lok Sabha MP from Karnataka said, drawing the ire of the ruling Congress in the state.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said the BJP leader did not know "Parliamentary or political language".
(with PTI inputs)
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