Karnataka Congress MLA BK Hariprasad defended his ‘Pakistan enemy country for the BJP, not for us’, statement on Thursday, saying that the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) is playing dirty tricks. The Karnataka Congress MLA also alleged that the BJP has asked the central government to declare Pakistan an enemy state.
Earlier on Wednesday, BK Hariprasad, in his speech in the legislative council, claimed that Pakistan may be an enemy country for the BJP, but the Congress considers it as only a neighbouring country.
“They (BJP) speak about our relationship with an enemy country. According to them, Pakistan is an enemy country. For us, Pakistan is not an enemy country, it’s our neighbouring country. They say Pakistan is our enemy country. Recently, they awarded the Bharat Ratna to LK Advani, who visited Jinnah’s mausoleum in Lahore and said there was no other secular leader like him. Was Pakistan not an enemy country then?” Hariprasad said while speaking in the assembly.
The Congress legislator’s remarks came while speaking in the assembly on Wednesday, sparking a stir amid ongoing controversy over alleged ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ slogans by supporters of the party’s MP-elect Syed Naseer Hussain outside Vidhana Soudha.
On Thursday, BK Hariprasad also threatened to move a privilege motion against channels that twisted his statements
“I said Pakistan is our neighbouring state. Let the BJP declare Pakistan an enemy state. The BJP is fully active in playing dirty tricks; whatever I have said in the Council, we have no objection to publishing whatever I have said. If they add masala to that, I think I’ll have to move a privilege motion against those channels that have twisted my statements. Whatever statement I made in the Council, I stand by that,” BK Hariprasad said while speaking to ANI on Thursday.
“If at all the BJP feels that Pakistan is an enemy state, the central government should ban all the trade and they should declare Pak an enemy state. Until and unless they declare Pak an enemy state we can’t call them enemy state. So they are our neighbour,” the Congress legislator said.
BK Hariprasad further claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended former Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif‘s granddaughter’s wedding in Lahore without invitation.
“PM Modi went to Pak to attend Nawaz Sharif’s grand daughter’s marriage without an invitation, breaking all protocols; we have not done any such thing. Whatever I have said, I stand by that,” Hariprasad said.
BJP lashed out at the Congress leader’s remarks, saying that this statement made the party’s ‘attitude’ clear.
Meanwhile, former Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai demanded a probe by the National Investigation Agency into raising of pro-Pakistan slogans and the dismissal of the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government in the state since “it was not functioning according to the Constitution”.
Bommai alleged that the state government protected “anti-nationals”.
(With agency inputs)
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Published: 29 Feb 2024, 09:08 PM IST