Yediyurappa says Eshwarappa’s ‘shoot the traitors’ remark twisted as row escalates

Related: BJP leader KS Eshwarappa seeks law to “shoot down traitors”

Suresh dares Eshwarappa

In a separate but related development, Suresh dared Eshwarappa to shoot him down instead of waiting for others to do the job.

“Why should anyone else shoot me? If you (Eshwarappa) give me time, I will stand before you for the sake of Karnataka, its land and Kannadigas,” Suresh told reporters here.

He said he would soon fix a time to meet the BJP leader.

“You want your leadership to appreciate you. Why go here and there in search (of killers)? I will come to your house. I will soon fix a time and meet you within a week. Be prepared whether you want to shoot me or stab me,” the Bengaluru Rural MP said.

Also Read: Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah to take legal action against BJP leader

FIR filed against BJP leader

An FIR has been registered and a notice has been served against the BJP leader for his remarks in Davangere.

Yediyurappa said Eshwarappa is capable of facing the FIR against him.

The Davangere Extension Police registered the FIR based on a complaint by Hanumanthappa (36), a resident of the area, and a notice was sent to the BJP leader.

Reacting to Eshwarappa’s comment, former BJP chief minister Jagadish Shettar insisted on remaining well within the limits.

“Eshwarappa has defended his statement. I have said several times in the past that nobody should cross the ‘Lakshman Rekha’ (the line of decency),” Shettar said in Hubballi.

Former BJP MLA M P Renukacharya backed Eshwarappa saying that no one can keep mum on the partition of the country.

“Eshwarappa is a staunch Hindutva supporter. He has only spoken the truth. How can he stay silent when someone talks about the partition of the country?” Renukacharya said.

He charged that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah-led Congress state unit’s demonstration in Delhi against the alleged injustice to Karnataka on February 7 was aimed at diverting public attention from the controversy arising due to Suresh’s statement.

Claiming that the taxes collected from the southern states were being distributed to north India, Suresh, the Bengaluru Rural MP and brother of Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, said on 1 February that the southern states would be forced to demand a separate nation if the ‘injustice’ was not rectified.

Also Read: Congress MP DK Suresh walks back ‘separate country’ after backlash

Shivakumar defends Suresh

Commenting on Eshwarappa’s statement, Karnataka IT/BT Minister Priyank Kharge said the statement reflected the level of intellect of the BJP leader.

“Your (Eshwarappa’s) statement to bring in a law to shoot down shows your level of intellect. Why his statements should be taken seriously when he is not in the game? He has already taken ‘involuntary retirement’ from politics and could not secure a place in the ‘Margadarshak Mandal’,” Priyank Kharge, son of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, told reporters in Kalaburagi.

On Saturday, Congress workers tried to lay siege to Eshwarappa’s house in Chakravarthy Layout in Bengaluru protesting his statement. Police personnel deployed there took the Congress workers into preventive custody.

Meanwhile, Shivakumar defended his brother, saying Suresh knew how to handle such threats.

“Suresh isn’t the type of person to get scared by threats. We know how to deal with it. We have settled many such threats in the past,” the DCM told reporters.

Shivakumar said every action has a consequence. “Eshwarappa once spoke about my father in the Assembly and everyone knows what happened next. Where is Eshwarappa today?” he said.

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