Karnataka Home Minister Araga Jnanendra, who had earlier claimed that a Bengaluru youth was murdered for refusing to speak in Urdu, made a u-turn and apologised for the remark, saying that he made the statement in “haste”.
22-year-old Chandru was murdered by a group of people in J.J. Nagar police station limits of Bengaluru on Tuesday at midnight in a road rage case. He was allegedly stabbed by one Shahid.
Giving a communal spin to the murder Jnanendra stated that Chandru was murdered because he could not speak in Urdu with the accused persons. “The murder has been carried out for refusing to talk in Urdu and for insisting to talk in Kannada. He was stabbed to death. The police have arrested a few persons and a hunt is on for other accused persons,” the Home Minister had stated.
However, he later clarified that his statement on the murder of youth for refusing to speak Urdu was wrong and made in haste. “I had spoken after receiving preliminary information. Police have given a detailed report. It is a case of road rage. My statement was wrong. As a Minister for Home, I will have to speak the truth. Road accident is the reason for the murder,” he said.
The Home Minister’s statement comes at a time when the state government has banned Muslim girls from wearing hijab in classrooms in educational institutions, Hindu extremist groups have given a call to boycott halal meat and now they are calls given to ban Azaan on loudspeakers in mosques.
Former CM and opposition leader Siddaramaiah demanded his resignation and former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy slammed him saying that he had stooped down to the level of carrying out politics in cases of murders also.
