MP Renukacharya, a Bharatiya Janata Party MLA in Karnataka, has claimed that Muslims store weapons in mosques instead of offering prayers there. Renukacharya made the comment at a pro-Citizenship Amendment Act rally in Honnalli in Davenagere district in Karnataka on Tuesday. Videos of the speech have been widely circulated on social media.

“If they (minorities) consider our party (BJP) to be enemy despite treating them as equals, I too will ignore them and not entertain them if they continue to oppose our policies and programmes,” the MLA said. Renukacharya has been the political secretary to Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa since August 2019.

The BJP has stated that it does not support Renukacharya’s comments. “He has made these statements in his personal capacity and the BJP has nothing to do with anything he said,” Karnataka BJP spokesperson S Prakash said. However, another party spokesperson, G Madhusudhana, said that the BJP will investigate Renukacharya’s claims about weapons in mosques and take action if they were proved to be true, IANS reported.