Union minister and Bharatiya Janata Party MP Shobha Karandlaje on Tuesday apologised for her remarks linking Tamil Nadu to the blast that took place in Bengaluru’s Rameshwaram Cafe on March 1.
Earlier in the day, Karandlaje had said, “People from Tamil Nadu come here [Bengaluru], get trained there and plant bombs here,” The Indian Express reported. “They placed a bomb in the cafe,” she added.
The BJP MP made the statement during a protest demanding the resignation of Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara on account of the recent attack on a shop owner for playing the Hindu hymn Hanuman Chalisa during azaan, the Muslim call to prayer.
On Wednesday, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam filed a complaint with the Election Commission against Karandlaje’s statement linking Tamil Nadu to the blast, ANI reported.
The party said that her remarks violated the Representation of the People Act, 1951, and the model code of conduct. The code is a set of guidelines issued by the Election Commission that political parties have to follow while campaigning.
The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam said that an investigation was currently underway in Bengaluru in connection with the blast. “Despite the same, the Hon’ble Minister has made the baseless accusation that the bomb was planted by people from Tamil Nadu,” the party said in its complaint.
It said that the statement attempted to “promote feelings of enmity and hatred” between communities in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. “It generalises the people of Tamil Nadu as extremists,” the complaint read.
The party said that the remarks amounted to “hate speech” and could lead to violence against the Tamil community.
On Tuesday, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin had said that Karandlaje’s statement was reckless. He had urged the Election Commission to take note of the “hate speech” and take action.
The chief minister also called for legal action against Karandlaje “for causing threat to peace, harmony and national unity”.
Stalin said that the Union minister “lacked the authority to make such assertions”.
“Tamilians and Kannadigas alike will reject this divisive rhetoric of BJP,” Stalin said. “From the Prime Minister [Narendra Modi] to cadre, everyone in the BJP should stop engaging in this dirty divisive politics at once,” he added.
Late on Tuesday, Karandlaje apologised on social media and said that her “words were meant to shine light, not cast shadows”. The Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare said that she was retracting her remarks.
“Yet I see that my remarks brought pain to some - and for that, I apologise,” Karandlaje said. “My remarks were solely directed towards those trained in the Krishnagiri forest, linked to the Rameshwaram Cafe blast,” she added.
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