Former Karnataka chief minister and the Leader of Opposition in the Karnataka Assembly, Siddaramiah recently triggered controversy after he said that he is not anti-Hindu but anti-Hindutva. Siddaramiah said that, according to him, Hindutva is for murder, violence, and discrimination.
Siddaramiah was speaking in Kalaburagi during the launch of a book - a biopic of former congress MLA BR Patil, when he said, "Hindutva is against Constitution. Hindutva and Hindu dharma is different. I'm not against the Hindu religion. I'm a Hindu but oppose Manuvad and Hindutva."
"No religion supports murder and violence but Hindutva and Manuvad support murder, violence, and discrimination," he added.
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This is not the first time the minister has sparked controversy with his remarks on Hindutva. Earlier on January 8, he proclaimed that he was a Hindu but opposed Hindutva. At the same event, he also said that he never opposed Ram Temple in Ayodhya but was against using it for political gain.
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On Saturday, Siddaramiah, also launched an attack on Karnataka Animal Husbandry Minister, Prabhu Chauhan, calling him a `fool` who cannot tell a goat from a cow.
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Taking to social media, Siddaramiah made a series of tweets in which he slammed the Animal Husbandry Minister of state and the functioning of the state government. "This minister is not fluent in any language including Kannada. Such people are unfit to be MLAs," he wrote in Kannada.
Siddaramiah said by imposing an 18 percent tax on pens, pencils, books, and yoghurt, the government had put more burden on the common man. However, he added that Congress has decided to give Rs 20,00 per month to every house owner and 200 units of electricity per month for free.
