Siddaramaiah condemns Ravneet Singh Bittu’s ‘terrorist’ jibe at Rahul Gandhi

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday condemned Union Minister Ravneet Singh Bittu for allegedly calling Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi the “number one terrorist of the country” and alleged that the BJP is plotting against the Congress leader who comes from a family with a legacy of sacrifice and martyrdom. Mr. Bittu’s jibe came in response to Mr. Gandhi’s remarks on Sikhs during his U.S. visit.

At a press conference here, Mr. Siddaramaiah said, “Mr. Gandhi is not someone who will be scared by such threats.” He alleged that there was a conspiracy by the BJP to intimidate and provoke their workers through these threats.

“A Shiv Sena MLA (Eknath Shinde faction), Sanjay Gaikwad, has called for cutting off Mr. Gandhi’s tongue and has offered a reward of ₹11 lakh for it. This is also a murder threat,” the Chief Minister said and demanded that a criminal case be filed against Mr. Gaikwad.

Mr. Gaikwad also threatened to bury Congress workers who protested against the BJP. Mr. Siddaramaiah demanded that criminal cases be filed and all those who issued threats to Mr. Gandhi arrested.

Demand for SIT

Mr. Siddaramaiah said there was a demand for a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the case against BJP MLA Munirathna for making offensive remarks against women, Dalits, and the Vokkaliga community. He said the government had already taken legal action against Mr. Munirathna and the probe was on.

Published - September 18, 2024 09:22 pm IST