BJP MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal on Wednesday stirred controversy by invoking Dr BR Ambedkar’s views on Partition and linking present-day communal and caste-related issues to national unrest.
Reacting to the terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday, Yatnal said Ambedkar had, in his book ‘The Partition of Pakistan’, asserted that Partition would be complete only when the last Muslim migrated to Pakistan and the last Hindu returned to India. “He said this in 1942, and today we are witnessing similar problems in Kashmir, West Bengal, Kerala, and even in Karnataka,” he stated.
The BJP leader alleged that in Karnataka, incidents of “Love Jihad” and the “gangrape and murder of Dalit girls” were on the rise. “When we look at all this, it becomes clear that as long as Muslims remain in this country, peace will not prevail. They are not patriotic. Ambedkar had said Islam does not believe in universal brotherhood and considers all non-Muslims as kafirs,” he claimed.
Crediting Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the sense of security felt by Hindus, Yatnal called for unity within the Hindu community, urging people to shed caste divisions. He criticised opposition leaders including Rahul Gandhi, Mamata Banerjee, Siddaramaiah, Lalu Prasad, and Akhilesh Yadav for what he termed as “caste-based politics for personal gain.”
“Considering these factors, India is clearly in a difficult and precarious situation,” he said.
