Eight Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) workers have been booked by police for allegedly abusing JD(S) MLA from the Devadurga Assembly constituency, Kariyamma G. Nayak, in Raichur district, reported IANS. It added that police said, the FIR has been lodged at Devadurga police station. As per the report, the BJP workers are accused of hurling abuses and expletives at MLA Kariyamma when she visited Aladamarada Tanda in Arakera taluk following the death of a lineman due to electrocution.
The saffron-party workers alleged that MLA Kariyamma came to the spot very late. The 28-year-old Virupaksha had died on June 4 due to electrocution. IANS reported that he climbed the electrical pole to repair fluctuations in the supply of electricity.
However, when Kariyamma came to the spot, the accused BJP workers hurled abuses at her. The video of the incident went viral on social media and the police have collected the video and taken up further investigation, the report added.
Meanwhile on Tuesday, BJP workers held a demonstration in Bengaluru against the Congress alleging that the state government is not delivering on its five poll guarantees as promised before the Karnataka elections. The protest is also in response to Karnataka's Animal Husbandry and Veterinary sciences minister K Venkatesh's statement that if buffaloes can be slaughtered, why not cows.
“We have not decided yet. The previous BJP government had brought in a bill, in that they have allowed slaughter of buffaloes and male buffaloes, but have said cow slaughter should not be done. We will discuss it and decide,” Venkatesh said while speaking to reporters.
His remarks came at a time when the ruling Congress in Karnataka is mulling the implementation of the Karnataka Prevention of Cow Slaughter and Preservation of Cattle (Amendment) Bill, 2020. The bill was passed in the state legislative Assembly in 2021 by the then-ruling BJP.
Former Karnataka chief minister and BJP leader Basavaraj Bommai condemned the statement and said in a series of tweets that Indians are emotionally connected with cows and worship them as a mother.
“Animal Husbandry Minister K Venkatesh’s statement is shocking. We condemn his statement. We Indians have an emotional connection with the cow and worship them as mother,” Bommai said.