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Yeddy chokes on idli controversy, orders food from restaurant at Dalit home
May 22, 2017
Downplaying allegations against State Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Chief
BS Yedyyurappa of eating breakfast brought from a nearby hotel at a
Dalit household in Tumakuru, the BJP while defending its chief said the
allegations are purely politically motivated.
"The Congress and
the JD (U) are losing ground in Karnataka. To compensate for this, they
are fabricating charges against Yeddyurappa. The allegations are totally
false," BJP leader S Prakash told ANI.
Drawing upon the
former Chief Minister's efforts in uplifting the socially backward
strata in the state, Prakash said the former has always propagated
social harmony, rather than gaining support purely as a means of
'votebank politics'.
"During his tenure as CM, Yeddyurappa
implemented around 25 to 30 schemes for the welfare of the Scheduled
Castes and Scheduled Tribes. It is this popularity that is being
targeted by the opposition. I'm sure the Dalit community will not
misunderstand," he added.
During his visit to Tumakuru district
on Friday, the former Chief Minister who was accompanied by other party
members visited the residence of a Dalit family where he allegedly ate
'idlis' from a nearby restaurant and not the food prepared by the family,
thus inviting trouble on grounds of promoting untouchability and caste
discrimination.
Claiming his act would spark off negativity in the community, a young man from the family lodged a complaint with the police.
Dismissing
claims of disrespecting the family, a BJP spokesperson painted the
allegations as a political move, adding that those who raised the issue
must immediately apologise to the family.
Yeddyurappa had
received flak over a similar situation earlier in Tumakuru where he was
photographed eating "tatte idli" at a Dalit's house at Gubbi.
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