Kolar (Karnataka), Nov 3 Karnataka BJP leader Chalavadi Narayanaswamy on Tuesday warned Congress leaders that saffron party workers would “tear them to pieces and throw them into the Arabian Sea” if they created unrest in the country.
Addressing the ‘Save Democracy, Eradicate Anarchy’ padayatra in Kolar, the Leader of the Opposition in the state Legislative Council alleged that the Congress was instigating anarchy by misleading people.
“Do not engage in attempts to mislead people. If you try to create anarchy, Congress, our BJP workers and supporters will tear you into pieces and throw you into the Arabian Sea,” he claimed.
The BJP is running the campaign across Karnataka against the Congress-backed protests over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Congress leaders slammed Narayanaswamy and staged a protest over the remark. He later clarified that it was directed at the Congress party and not at any individual.
In a video statement, Narayanaswamy said he had told the gathering that the Congress was creating anarchy in the country, with the support of its alliance partners.
“I therefore said that if the Congress continues to create anarchy against the country in this manner, people or party workers would tear the Congress apart and throw it into the Arabian Sea. What I said in that context was correct,” he said.
“However, my remarks have been distorted, and some party workers have opposed them and staged protests. Some sections of the media have also reported that Narayanaswamy had ‘lost control of his tongue’ and made an inflammatory speech,” he added.
He said the speech was not inflammatory as he had not referred to any specific individual, and that he had obtained the video and examined it.
“My remarks were not directed at any person. I was speaking about the Congress party and nothing else,” he said.
“The words I had spoken are clearly evident in the video. Had I said anything that could have been misunderstood or conveyed a wrong meaning, I could have acknowledged that it was an error made in the heat of the moment. But I did not make any personal remarks intended to hurt anyone, nor did I speak against any individual,” he said.
(PTI News)
