Several days after a Hindu outfit reportedly launched an attack on Muslim fruit vendors outside of a Hanuman temple in Karnataka, state BJP MLA Arvind Bellad reiterated that it was a Hindu temple and that Muslim vendors should maintain themselves accordingly.
In a statement issued by Bellad, he suggested that the way the Muslim vendors were dressed could have made Hindu devotees visiting the Hanuman temple uncomfortable, as they appeared to be dressed in pajamas and skull caps.
As per media reports, the BJP MLA said, “It's a Hindu Temple...even if he is a Muslim Vendor how he needs to dress up.. wearing a skull cap with a beard, shaved his mustaches and wearing a pajama...How will Hindu devotees feel.”
This statement comes days after a video emerged of Muslim fruit sellers being attacked and their carts destroyed by members of a Hindu group. The incident took place outside the Hanuman Temple in the Dharwad district of Karnataka.
Taking note of the rise in communal issues in the state, Karnataka CM Basavaraj Bommai sent out a clear message, saying that his government will not support any kind of violence and will not tolerate people who take the law into their hands.
While issuing a statement on the incident, Bommai had said, “My actions are speaking, our actions are speaking. We should not speak, our work should speak. In what situation, what decision has to be taken, what action is required, we are taking it, we need not learn from them.”
As per the latest developments in the case, four out of the eight accused have been arrested in the attack on Muslim watermelon sellers. Investigations in the matter are currently underway, and the police are tracking down the other accused in the matter.
Instances of communal violence have been reported in several states over the past few days, especially on Ram Navami. Reports have come from states such as Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, and West Bengal. A violent brawl also broke out in New Delhi’s JNU on Ram Navami.
READ | Muslim fruit sellers harassed, carts vandalised outside Karnataka’s Hanuman temple
