Karnataka minister CN Ashwath Narayan offered a clarification on Thursday amid the row over his comment in Mandya that former chief minister Congress’s Siddaramaiah should be ‘finished off’ like Tipu Sultan. The minister said his comparison between Tipu Sultan and Siddaramaiah were casual allusions and not malicious words, ‘not meant to hurt anyone’. “The people of the State are well aware of Siddaramaiah’s language proficiency. I was merely alluding to the fact that Congress should be defeated in this election. And, after all, our people of Mandya do not possess the brutal mentality of Tipu,” the minister said. Read | ‘Get the gun…’: Siddaramaiah reacts to Karnataka minister’s ‘appeal to kill’
The Kerala Congress filed a complaint against the minister for the ‘finish off’ call as the election bugle has been sounded in the state in the name of Tipu Sultan. After Karnataka BJP chief Nalin Kumar Kareel said there is no place for those who worship Tipu Sultan, Ashwath Narayan urged people to ‘finish off’ Siddaramaiah.
Read | ‘Open call for violence’: Owaisi on BJP min’s ‘finish off Siddaramaiah’ remark
Siddaramaiah reacted to the ‘finish off’ call and said he is not surprised at all and he does not expect anything else from the “worshippers of Mahatma Gandhi’s murdered”. “I am not surprised by @drashwathcn’s call to kill me. How can we expect love and friendship from the leaders of the party that worships the murderer of Mahatma Gandhi?” tweeted Siddaramaiah
“Higher Education Minister @drashwathcn has appealed people to kill me like how Tipu was killed. Aswath Narayan, Why are you trying to instigate people? Get the gun yourself,” the Congress leader said.
Asking PM Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah’s reaction to the ‘finish off’ call, Siddaramaiah said, “What does ‘finish off Siddaramaiah’ mean? A minister who is supposed to protect the people, Mr Ashwathnarayan said this, right? What will PM Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah say now? It’s BJP’s culture to attack, kill & assassinate.”