Forbid Dinesh from public meetings till polls: BJP to EC

The state BJP on Sunday raised a huge uproar over Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) working president Dinesh Gundu Rao’s comments on Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

Speaking at an event organised by the Congress in Bengaluru on Saturday to protest against the Unnao and Kathua rape incidents, Rao had said people should beat Adityanath with chappals the next time he visited Karnataka.

The BJP held protests in the city, took to social media and even sought that the Election Commission of India bar Dinesh Gundu Rao from holding any press conferences or participating in public meetings till the completion of elections.

“Dinesh Gundu Rao’s choice of words to address Yogi Adityanath Ji has appalled me. Utter disrespect to a CM and a revered Natha family saint.

The millions of Natha Panth followers of Karnataka will never forgive this. I sympathise with you and your party’s culture,” tweeted BJP state president B S Yeddyurappa.

‘Law and order problem’

In a memorandum submitted to Chief Electoral Officer Sanjeev Kumar, the party stated that Rao’s statement would create law and order problem in the state. Besides, the statement pointed out, the remark also went against
the security aspect of Yogi Adityanath during his visit to Karnataka.

“Instigating party followers to throw slippers is a very serious issue and highly provocative in nature. It will create disharmony in the state... If he is allowed to speak more, he will make more such inciting statements and disturb the peace”, the memorandum stated and urged the ECI to stop Rao from holding any further meetings or address during the election period.