Home Minister Araga Jnanendra caused a flutter on Friday after a video of him slamming the police for being corrupt and “living like dogs eating bribes” went viral.
The video — in which the minister is seen speaking on the phone with a top police officer from Chikkamagaluru district — is said to have been recorded during a meeting chaired by Jnanendra.
The reason for the home minister’s outburst was the alleged involvement of policemen in illegal transportation of cattle, especially cows. Transporting cattle for the purpose of slaughter is prohibited in Karnataka.
“Those who regularly transport (cattle) are habituals. Your people know that. But, they’re living like dogs eating bribes. Don’t you police people want a sense of self-respect?” Jnanendra is heard saying in the video.
“I had never spoken like this. But, as home minister, should I continue or not? The entire Chikkamagaluru district is yours. I come from Shivamogga. All policemen have become bad and corrupt. We give them a handful of salary. Nobody wants to live off of the salary. They are living off leftovers (money),” he says.
Continuing his tirade, the home minister says: “If they are unfit, let them remove their uniform and go die at home. Let them get buried somewhere. How can people live by counting on them? People wield swords and take away cattle from the sheds...”
With his remarks going viral, Jnanendra went into damage control and issued a statement, saying he was not referring to all police personnel.
“I did not generalise to include all policemen. I was referring to only those who are colluding with illegal cattle transporters,” he said.
“As the home minister, I respect the police. Karnataka’s policing system is good,” he said.
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(Published 03 December 2021, 09:12 IST)
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