BENGALURU: Congress leader and former MLA Belur Gopalakrishna has come under fire from the BJP for his “shoot Modi” remarks. In fact, his own party leaders too have disapproved his comments. The BJP has demanded his immediate arrest and the party will file a complaint with Bengaluru police commissioner on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, the BJP Karnataka unit put out a video clip of the Congress leader’s speech on social media and demanded that immediate action be taken against him. “In an official party function, Congress leader Gopalakrishna calls for the assassination of democratically elected Prime Minister. Immediate action should be taken against him,” Karnataka BJP unit stated.
On February 4, while addressing Congress workers during a demonstration to protest against Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha members shooting at a Gandhi effigy, Gopalakrishna had dared the right-wing activists to shoot Modi if they have the courage. Gopalakrishna was earlier with the BJP and was an MLA from Sagar in Shivamogga district.
“It is shocking. The Congress leader must be arrested and a criminal case must be booked against him,” BJP state general secretary and MLC N Ravi Kumar said. The government seems to have turned a blind eye to such a serious crime just because Gopalakrishna is a Congress leader, he added.
BJP MP Shobha Karandlaje too urged Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy and Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara to take action against Gopalakrishna.
Parameshwara too disapproved his party leader’s remarks. “Narendra Modi is the Prime Minister of the country and it is not appropriate to make such remarks about him. We have ideological differences with Modi, but it is not right to make such statements,” he said.Home Minister M B Patil too said that action will be taken against the Congress leader if he has made such remarks about Modi. “I need to check and know the truth. If he has said that, action will be taken against him,’’ Patil added.
Gopalakrishna, however, remained defiant. “The BJP is twisting my speech. They (right wing activists) had disrespected Gandhiji by shooting at his effigy. I had only asked them if they dared to point a gun at their own party leaders. I had never asked them to shoot the PM,” he said.