Hegde’s elevation kicks up storm; Cong says BJP plans to communalise Karnataka

Hegde’s elevation kicks up storm; Cong says BJP plans to communalise Karnataka

New Delhi: Anantkumar Hegde’s appoinment as the Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship has kicked off a storm with the Congress claiming that his induction in the council of minister was with the “sole intent” of creating a communal divide in Karnataka.

The 49-year-old Hegde, a Lok Sabha member from Uttara Kannada, took oath along with four cabinet ministers and eight ministers of state at a function in the Rashtrapati Bhawan Sunday morning.

As he was sworn-in as a Union Minister, images of Hegde beating up three doctors at a hospital in Sirsi in January played on television screens highlighting his controversial past. His remarks of March last year linking Islam to terrorism also returned to haunt Hegde.

“As long as there is Islam in this world, there will be terrorism,” Hegde had said at a press conference in Sirsi last year. He had stood by his remarks.

On Sunday, Congress leader Manish Tewari cited Hegde’s remarks to claim that the promotion of the Karnataka leader was a clear indication towards BJP’s attempts to communalise the situation ahead of the assembly election next year.

“If you look at his past from 1992 onwards, it is all directed at attempting to polarize society and create a communal divide. So, Hegde’s induction gives an indication of what the BJP’s strategy in Karnataka is going to be,” Tewari told reporters here.

Interacting with reporters after the swearing-in ceremony, Hegde brushed aside the Congress criticism. “Hindutva and Rashtravad (nationalism) cannot be separate,” he said contending that the Congress was “no challenge” to the BJP in Karnataka.

The elevation of Hegde, a Brahmin, has come as a surprise to his party colleagues in Karnataka as many were expecting a Lingayat leader to be made minister.